


The Games We Play

by maddog13



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Anime), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types
Genre: Action/Adventure, Best Friends, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Minor Character Death, Multi, Older Characters, Romance, Team Plasma, Team Rocket - Freeform, Team Rocket vs Team Plasma, War, i dont know
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-27
Updated: 2017-02-08
Packaged: 2018-04-11 15:29:34
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 67,148
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4441259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/maddog13/pseuds/maddog13
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"You did what was right for you, and I was never alone. Like you said, we have friends and family here. They're everywhere, if you know where to look." </p><p>When tragedy and war strikes the regions Ash bands together with people of his past to take down the warring Team Rocket and Plasma, and ends up becoming a wanted criminal. He may have made the greatest, or worst decision of his life. Poke, Contest, Ikari, Leafgreen, etc.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**February 19th, 2015**

**Somewhere in Ethum**

**2:03am**

The hallways of the laboratory were cold and dark, the girl walking down them hated it here but there wasn't really anything she could do to fix it. The place was fairly impressive if she was being honest but it still gave her the creeps, not that she'd admit that to anyone. That would be ridiculous, she barely admitted it to herself after all.

There was something about the flickering lights and the greenish glow they emitted. Maybe it was all the men in white coats and the messed up shit that went on there. Or the deafening silence. Whatever it was, she did not like her visits here. Unfortunately they happened to be quite frequent as of late.

Still it was something she had to do and she'd put up with it for now, at least she'd be leaving soon there was just someone she had to find first.

Where on earth was he? That pain in the ass was always late and she was always stuck picking up his slack. Typical, that was their entire partnership. She carried the team and he dragged them down, although he would probably say the same about her as well.

Frustrated she decided to search the halls to search for her partner and blow off some of her steam. As she turned the corner she saw him walking calmly down the next hallway. Even with that stupid mask covering his nose and mouth she recognized him because of that stupid thing he always had pushed up against his face.

"Put that down," The dark pink haired girl snapped angrily at the dirty blonde male in front of her, "You're such a creep with that stupid camera."

The boy scowled but silently put the digital camera into the black protective vest of his uniform.

"You're late again," She said with a voice filled with annoyance, "You should know better by now."

"Thanks for the lecture Mum but I don't need you to tell me what to do."

"At least tell me you got everything we need," She groaned, trying to stay patient but not really succeeding.

"Of course I did, I hope you did too."

"You think so little of me?" She demanded, he stared at her a moment and then she added, "Don't answer that. Let's just get out of here OK?"

"Fine with me."

Rolling her eyes she made her way through the maze of hallways towards the exit, her partner only steps behind.

"Grunt Gwen," The girl said holding up her ID card to the guard at the lab exit, "Signing out."

The man scanned her card and nodded, allowing her to leave. Her partner followed in suit, showing his identification.

"Grunt Trent, signing out," He said as he left, his card was checked as well and the two of them left the underground lab quietly.

Outside it was simply a small island of no consequence, which was probably why no one in the region's government had discovered this place. It was actually pretty lame too. There was nothing around other than a few trees, the small building that masked the lab's entrance, and a small beach area. It was pretty cold and windy tonight and the tight Team uniforms were not exactly known for their warmth.

"This sucks," She muttered angrily, as she stood at the shoreline, water kissing her feet as the waves rolled in, "Where is our ride?"

"Late obviously," Her partner said in a bored tone as he lay down in the sand and closed his eyes.

"Leave it to a damn Dragon Pokémon to let me down. Mew, I hate Dragons."

He sighed in annoyance as if she was a child repeating the same question over and over,

"Do you ever shut up?"

"No, besides what information do you have for Hana and Nick?" She asked as they walked towards the sandy beach.

"Nothing good, apparently we got Intel informing us more about the problems in Kanto and Johto, I heard that we'll be using their little issue as a distraction and reason to execute our own plan."

"Makes sense," The girl sighed, "All eyes will be pointed away from us so the timing is perfect. I don't really want to know anymore than that, just tell you know who and leave it."

"Fine," He said quietly, then perked up when he looked at the sky, "Hey there's our ride."

The girl frowned deeply as she saw the subject of his relief, feeling a knot in her stomach,

"Damn Dragon Pokémon."

**March 2nd, 2015**

**11:12pm**

A man stood in the center of a large stadium, staring at each and every empty seat. He'd been here more times than he can count; only that stadium was normally filled to the brim with people, lights, and signs, it was always loud. He at first found the chanting unbearable but eventually became desensitized to it, enough that it was tolerable. The current lack of noise was refreshing, yet almost eerie. Tomorrow it wouldn't be so silent and it wouldn't be so empty. For now however the man would enjoy the strange and serenading quiet.

This time around he was actually fairly pleased with the contestants that would be competing the next day. He normally disliked such events but he had met the one of the finalists when they were younger and he recalled the potential they'd had. It was a deep wish of his that these sorts of events stayed private but fans were respectful of the competitors' space during the season so these competitions were fans' opportunity to go crazy. He himself received a fair portion of such attentions. Still, it would be an interesting day; on he would watch with appropriate anticipation.

Each year he wondered what the victor would do after they won, and how far they'd go. He was often disappointed as they didn't often get much further; there was a fairly good reason for that. It was hard to do much better what they had already achieved, that much was very well known. Many victors were not known to accomplish any other feat afterwards, they simply disappeared from history, the only memory of them the record kept of their single win.

That was a thought for another time however, at this moment the man would relish the peace of the night, closing his eyes and feeling the cool breeze.

Suddenly something ripped through the air, a faint and subtle noise. The noise of footsteps. Slow and steady. Not the steps of a caretaker or maintenance worker, but these steps were calculated— cold, very much like the man's own.

He turned around to see the source of the disturbance.

Emerging from the shadows of the stadium entrance was a slow moving silhouette, it was obviously a male, and as he came closer the man thought he recognized who was standing before him. It was hard to tell, and if it was who he thought then that person would be very much changed, physically or otherwise. When the stranger came into view the man realized he wasn't a stranger at all. It was as he suspected making him unsure whether or not to be pleased or worried. Instead he decided to wait until further notice before he decided what to feel.

"It's been a while," The man spoke once the new arrival had fully revealed himself, there was no reply, "It takes a lot to shock me, but I knew you'd be coming back eventually."

"Then you know what I'm here for," The younger man spoke, not at all in a friendly tone.

It was painfully obvious what he was there for, and one thing was for sure, he wouldn't be getting it. Not without a struggle. The man had dreaded the day when this would happen, he'd planned for it and thought he was ready for it whenever it presented itself. But now… after seeing him again, old emotions he'd buried were resurfacing and he suddenly felt completely unprepared, he couldn't show it though no matter how much it was weighing on his heart.

"Yes I do, and rest assured it won't come easy."

"You forget, I've been gone a long time, and we've both gotten older." The other man replied.

"You're saying you'll beat me?" The man scoffed, hands reaching for his back pocket for his Pokémon, "Still a dream of yours, kid?"

The young man replied with a dark chuckle as he pulled a Pokéball from his belt, pressing the button and enlarging it to fill his palm, "I'm saying I'll wipe the floor with you, and remind you that my intentions are nothing like one of a child's. You forget I'm no longer your puppet to be used at your leisure."

"People don't change, you're as naïve as ever. You may think you're different than you were before when I first met you, but you aren't. Still think everything will come easy to you? That it will be handed to you on a silver platter? Let me assure you it won't."

"I suppose that we'll have to wait and see."

The man narrowed his eyes at his opponents comment but made the choice not to respond and instead let his own Pokéball fly,

"Go!"

**March 3rd, 2015**

**Indigo Plateau Conference**

**8:53pm**

Ash's toes wiggled in anticipation, he could hear the cheers from the outside muted by the thick concrete walls of the stadium. He couldn't shake the excitement and nervousness from his stomach. Eight years, eight years he'd been waiting for this, and it was finally here. He'd worked way too long and hard to pass the opportunity up. His fists clenched in anxious anticipation.

"Pika Pi!" Pikachu cried as he jumped up on Ash's shoulder happily, apparently just as giddy as he was.

"I know you're excited buddy, we can take him right?"

"Pikachu Pi!" He agreed with a smile.

It was the Indigo Plateau Conference Finals; and Ash had made it. He had the opportunity to become the winner of the Indigo Plateau Conference, he had the chance to battle the Elite Four, and he had the chance to become Champion. There was no way he was going to screw this chance up; he would give it his all, no regrets.

"You have five minutes Mr. Ketchum," Alerted an assistant with a headset and a clipboard as they passed by his waiting room.

"Thanks."

Five minutes.

He was practically pissing his pants he was so thrilled. He stared at the Pokéballs in his hands proudly.

Noivern, Sceptile, Infernape, Dewott, even Charizard had joined him for the battle, and he had his best friend on his side— well, shoulder. Ash felt confidant, not in himself, but in his Pokémon. They'd been by his side and on his team for years, they'd gone through blood, sweat, tears, and who knows what else during training. It had all paid off, and now was the moment of cashing all that work in.

"C'mon guys, let's go and show everyone what we're made off."

"We're ready for you now," The same assistant said, popping her head back in.

Gathering up all the courage he had Ash put the Pokéballs in his pocket, rubbed Pikachu's head causing the mouse Pokémon to smile, and headed out of the greenroom and towards the stadium entrance. As he preceded forward the crowd's cheers got louder and louder. Each step he took was a step closer to his dream, and as he stood, waiting for his name to be called he took it all in.

This was it.

Everything he'd done up in his life up till now led to this. This moment, it was the end of an era, but the beginning of a new one. Life's possibilities suddenly seemed so much grander, and so much brighter.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he almost missed his name being called out,

"And now, our first finalist of the Indigo Plateau Conference," The announcer shouted enthusiastically, "A Kanto native, Ash Ketchum from Pallet town!"

That was his queue.

He walked out confidently, with a grin on his face, waving to the screaming crowds. The night sky had no effect on the intense lighting that filled the arena, it was so strong he couldn't help but squint; he couldn't see the people in the audience, just the flashes from their cameras and the sound of their cheers.

He soaked it all in, sure it might have been cocky, but it was amazing, the energy of the audience. There was nothing quite like it. Ash always had loved a crowd.

Ash knew his mum, Professor Oak, and Gary were somewhere in the audience. Brock had also said he had tickets to the match and a ton of his friends had called him before the match saying they would be watching it live on TV. That added pressure but it also encouraged him. His very best friends were rooting for him; the people he cared about most were supporting him. In that moment Ash felt lucky, he _was_ lucky. He couldn't have asked for a better group of people surrounding him.

He turned to the Champion's Box; he recognized quite a few faces. Each Champion was present, Lance, Wallace, Cynthia, Adler, Diantha, as well as former Champion Steven Stone. Paul sat among their ranks, a rival he hadn't met with since their battle at the Silver Conference when Ash had been twelve. Paul had won the Sinnoh League only recently and had succeeded in defeating the Elite Four, as well as Cynthia. Ash had seen it on television a few weeks back, it was probably one of the best battles he'd ever seen, Paul only winning by a hair. The guy would be taking over as Champion once the new season started in April. If Ash was able to do the same as him, they'd both be Champions, and Ash was itching to challenge him. He seemed like he always was, impassive and aloof. He didn't look at Ash, but kept his arms crossed and face forward.

The entirety of the Kanto and Johto Elite Four was there as well, Karen, Bruno, Koga, and the newest member as of three years ago, Misty, his old friend from his first year of traveling. He hadn't seen her in ages, last time they saw each other in person she was still a gym leader. She looked different but he could tell by her movements and expressions she wasn't really changed at all. He shot Misty a smile and waved goofily. She turned her head, saw him, and rolled her green eyes, but as she turned back Ash could see the subtle smirk playing at her lips.

"And our second finalist of the Indigo Plateau Conference," Cried the announcer, "A Kalosian from Vaniville Town, Calem Vincent."

A tall dark haired trainer around Ash's age walked out with a determined and elated expression. He had a burgundy coloured cap on, along with a navy blue coat and black cargo pants.

Ash watched as his opponent walked out, just as happy to be there as he was. Calem was a good trainer, Ash didn't really know him so well as their paths hadn't crossed before, but from what he could see they guy seemed pretty cool and was a really great trainer. He'd be a challenge, but Ash always wanted that.

"Each trainer will be using their full party of Pokémon, a classic one on one battle, no substitutions! Now if you all are ready for the finals of this conference, which will decide the winner of the Indigo League, let the battle, begin!"

Calem reached into his bag and grasped his first Pokéball in his hands; he crossed his arms around his chest and then threw the Pokéball up high into the air.

"Let's go Meowstic!"

Ash pulled out his own Pokéball, turned his baseball cap around and gave the ball the most powerful throw he could,

"Dewott, I choose you!"

* * *

The battle was tough; they'd been neck and neck this entire time. It felt like it had been hours but Ash really had no idea how long they'd been going at it. Calem proved himself to be a hell of a challenge and Ash loved it.

His Meowstic had been a big problem at the beginning; he took out both Dewott and Septile almost too easily, giving him a pretty nice head start into the battle. Ash had been shaken, pretty frustrated, but not ready to give up. Luckily Pikachu came through and took out Meowstic, Absol, and Altaria, letting Ash catch up and pull slightly ahead. He could always count on his best friend, their synchronization and understanding of each other in battle was amazing and he couldn't have asked for a better performance than what Pikachu gave.

After so many battles the poor guy was exhausted and was taken out by Calem's Clefable. Noivern defeated Clefable but was later taken down by Vaporeon. Ash knew the type disadvantage he had sending out Infernape, but the two of them managed to break down the type wall with Blaze and defeat the water type. This left Infernape in bad shape, fainting only seconds after Vaporeon. T

The two of them only had one Pokémon left.

Sweat dripped down Ash's temples, he knew he had the type advantage in this battle, but he never relied on or cared much about types and their effects so he knew not to underestimate Calem's last Pokémon. There were dark clouds covering the moon now and Ash could practically smell the presence of rain in the air. Not good as Charizard was a fire type, but it was not going to be the decider of the battle, Ash wouldn't let it.

"C'mon Chesnaught, just one more battle!" Calem shouted as he released his last Pokémon.

A Chestnaught appeared, he was the biggest one Ash had ever seen, certainly bigger than Clemont's, but he had a trusted old friend by his side. There was nothing to worry about.

"Go Charizard, we've got this!" Ash cried as he tossed his Pokéball into the air revealing Charizard.

It roared loudly and shot flames from his mouth, flexing every muscle in his body, always the show off Ash knew only too well.

The crowd roared equally as loud, pumped up and anticipating the last match up of the battle before the winner was determined.

"Charizard, let's start this off with a Sky Drop!"

Charizard was instantly flying towards Chesnaught, ready grab it and take it up into the air.

"Brace yourself Chesnaught, use Spiky Shield then follow it up with a Body Slam!" Calem called out.

Just as Charizard reached for Chesnaught, spikes grew from his back causing Charizard crash right into them, the Pokémon hissed in pain. The grass type instantly went into its next attack, knocking Charizard harshly in the abdomen, Charizard cried out in pain, but caught himself midway before he could make impact with the ground, and then flew out of Chesnaught's reach.

Ash's teeth clenched, that Spiky Shield would be a problem that he'd have to work around… but how? There wasn't much time to make an elaborate plan however, so he'd rely on his instincts, that was how he got here in the first place.

"Charizard use Dragon Rage on Chesnaught while it's recovering!" Ash ordered.

"Quick Chesnaught hit him with your Seed Bomb!"

The two attacks collided and for a brief moment Ash thought they were done for, the collision caused a huge explosion, leaving smoke everywhere. Both Pokémon weren't visible and it wasn't clear what exactly happened.

The smoke cleared and Ash grinned, both Pokémon were untouched, still battle ready, neither breaking a sweat.

"Nice one Ash, but you're going to need a lot more than that to even touch my Chesnaught!" Calem taunted.

"We'll see about that," Ash laughed, "Charizard fly up high and get ready!"

Charizard flew up quickly above the arena; so far up he looked tiny.

"Cesnaught, be on your guard."

"Use Giga Impact!" Ash cried out, as he spoke Charizard charged downward, with amazing speed, ready to knock out his opponent with one shot.

"Use your vine whip to catch him before he hits you!" Calem shouted.

Coarse and crude vines shot out from Chesnaughts large shell and entangled Charizard before he could reach him or the ground. He was stuck in the vines, unable to fly up, down, or any way.

"Try to get out of it!"

And it did try, but the strength of the vines… they were too thick, unlike any Vine Whip Ash had seen before, it almost resembled a frenzy plant attack and Charizard just couldn't get out.

"Now take that Pokemon for a swing!" Calem commanded.

Chesnaught swung the vines around back and forth hitting Charizard against the stadium floor over and over. The fire type cried out in pain, Ash could see he was getting pretty battered up. He had to think of something and fast, or else this match would be lost and Charizard injured.

Then it hit him,

"Charizard use your Flamethrower on the vines!"

Judging by the look in the Pokémon's eyes he understood, shooting a powerful hot breath of fire down the vines, burning them and traveling quickly down towards the source. Chesnaught cried out in pain as the fire reached his body.

"Chesnaught!"

Looking at the Pokémon now, they were both exhausted, Ash wouldn't be surprised if one of them fell over and the match would end. Charizard was bruised and dizzy, Chesnaught was burned and weak. It had been a quick battle so far, but one with intense and damaging results.

"C'mon Charizard I know you can do this." Ash muttered to himself, he knew it could pull it off. It seemed as if it heard Ash's words and met Ash's eyes with a smirk.

"Chesnaught use Power Up Punch while it's weak!"

Not about to let Calem have the last move Ash called out,

"Charizard, if you can, fly up high again!"

His Pokémon looked to him and nodded, flying up just as Chesnaught's energy filled fist was about to hit him. It was a narrow escape, but it was an escape none the less.

"Use smokescreen over the arena!" Ash ordered.

A dark smoke emerged from Charizard's jaws and covered the stadium, Ash couldn't see anything and that was the whole point, he'd just realized how to get around the Spiky Shield that was preventing any of Charizard's strong physical attacks.

"Now set fire to the center of the stadium with an Overheat!"

Flames burst from the Pokémon's mouth as it aimed its powerful attack towards the center of the stage. Ash was almost positive, this match was almost over.

"Get away from center stage Chesnaught!" Calem called desperately.

Ash was pretty sure with Chesnaught's skills it probably managed to escape, just as he'd hoped.

"You know what to do Charizard!" Ash yelled out loudly, almost sure that his Pokémon was thinking the same thing, but he couldn't risk saying it out loud, or else it would give away the plan.

Charizard bolted down towards the stadium and into the smoke like a rocket. Ash waited for him to return.

"Please work, please work, please work," Ash chanted with his fists clenched and his stomach turning, hoping to see his Pokémon return from the smoke victorious.

Nothing came out. There was no noise except the crackling of the overheat attack as the flames licked through the center stage. Nothing. He couldn't hear anything. Even the crowd was silent, anticipating the next move.

Suddenly Charizard burst out from the Smoke Screen carrying the Chesnaught up and into the night sky.

"Yes!" Ash cheered victoriously, it had worked, Chesnaught was unable to use Spiky Shield if he didn't know where Charizard was coming from, "Now use your Sky Drop!"

The fire type roared as he threw the grass type into the center stage's flames from Charizard's previous overheat.

"No," Calem cried, "Chesnaught!"

As he cried out a clap of thunder burst through the clouds and rain began to pour down onto the outdoor arena.

"Ha! Perfect timing, eh Charizard?" Ash laughed, the Pokémon roared triumphantly in reply.

The smoke cleared, the fire died down to a smoky steam, and Charizard flew back to Ash's side. Chesnaught had fainted, he wasn't severely hurt, Ash and Charizard made sure that wouldn't happen, but one thing was for sure, this battle was finished.

"Chesnaught is unable to battle; the victory goes to Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town!" The referee yelled.

"And that's the end of the battle folks!" The announcer shouted to the audience, "The winner of the 2014 Indigo Plateau Conference is Ash Ketchum! Congratulations!"

Cheers erupted through the stadium, Ash hadn't realized that they could scream any louder, but they were.

Then it hit him like a freight train, the battling had Ash so focused it caused him to forget, but he remembered now that he was battling to become this year's Indigo Plateau winner, and he'd won.

Eight years.

Even longer, practically his whole life he'd wanted and worked for this.

It was sort of surreal.

Ash clutched the Pokéballs in his pocket and gently let out the team that got him here in the first place.

Noivern, Dewott, Sceptile, and Infernape stared at him eager to know how the match went, Pikachu jumped on his shoulder as Charizard stepped closer to its trainer.

"We won," Ash whispered to them, almost unable to believe it himself. He slowly got louder as he repeated over and over until he was practically shouting, "We did it, we did it, we did it!"

His team cheered for joy, all proud.

"Pika pi pika!" Pikachu cried out with joy.

"C'mere guys," He laughed as he pulled each of his Pokémon into a group hug so tight he probably could have suffocated. Ash continued laughing, not caring that he was soaking wet from rain and probably looked like an idiot, he laughed until he cried, and he cried until he couldn't tell his tears from the rain covering the stadium.

**March 4th, 2015**

**Kanto Pokémon League**

**4:09am**

"You're late," Lance said curtly as Wallace and Glacia walked into the dimly lit room, taking a seat at the round table where the other Champions sat. Misty watched them, remarking on their ordinary and low maintenance appearance. The situation didn't call for the traditional Pokémon League garb, but still it was strange seeing such put together people looking so… normal. Given the circumstances primping may have been inappropriate so she did understand; she wasn't exactly going to win any beauty contests herself.

"Sorry about that Lance," Wallace apologized, "Is this everyone?"

It was. Each Champion was present along with their 'second', which was why she was here. When Lance had asked her after the Indigo Plateau Conference Finals to accompany him to a meeting with the other Champions, she knew it had to be something bad. The only time the Champions had meeting at this time of night, accompanied only by what was normally their most trusted Elite Four member, was when something serious and detrimental was about to happen. Everything was so sudden and urgent. When Misty asked Lance he informed her that in his fifteen years of being a champion, there had never been a meeting of this sort and of this nature.

Obviously Misty was anxious as hell, not sure what exactly what to expect despite the fact she knew most of the facts of the situation, only the Champions knew the entire story, and it would stay that way until further notice. She'd been given a vague synopsis with no names or places, her role here was to observe and soak in information to filter to her fellow Elite Four members, who would then simplify it even more to the Indigo League Gym Leaders.

She glanced at the others who'd joined the Champions, Wilkstrom was with Diantha, Grimsley with Adler, and Glacia with Wallace. The only one here not of the Elite Four was Paul, the soon to be Champion of Sinnoh, Misty knew nothing of him except that he always wore a sour expression that matched his personality and his battling skills were nothing to joke about. They'd never spoken before.

"Are we ready to begin?" Diantha asked smoothly, with the grace that Misty supposed came with a woman of her occupation.

Lance nodded quickly,

"You all know why this meeting has been called, and I suspect all of you have similar questions, but let me start off by saying, although this may be speculation, being on your guard is essential. Now, we need a plan of action, one to take to the enemy, and one to prepare ourselves if they strike first."

Misty swallowed hard, this sounded bad, and she'd seen some bad things in her life time (mostly Ash's fault of course). Lance wasn't beating around the bush here, and she could tell by his voice he was anxious, scared even.

"I assume this means that we should prep our own regional branches of G-Men? And the International Police?" Cynthia surveyed, giving each Champion a questioning look, "As well as prepare some sort of headquarters, one that would not be accessible by public information."

"And judging by the situation I'm going to guess that the threat only extends to Kanto and Johto at this point, correct Lance?" Adler asked.

"Yes, while you're regions are most likely safe at the moment, arm yourself, your Elite, your gym leaders, and your G-Men." Lance replied, "Kanto and Johto's fate is… inevitable, but everywhere else is going to have to pick up the pieces. Be prepared for anything."

"I assume we are going to go on as though there is nothing wrong, does that mean the event for the Indigo Plateau Conference Champion is still going to happen?" Adler inquired.

"We can't have people suspect anything is arise, or that we're aware of it," Cynthia nodded, "It's a big event, but I suggest we leave some of our people back in our home regions instead of having them attend. Not so many that it's obvious, but enough to keep the regions safe. At least one Elite Four Member per Region and a handful of Gym Leaders."

"Assuming you're planning on going underground Lance, you will need a team of specialists, not just good battlers," Wallace pointed out, "You're going to need a lot of people."

"Get the best of the best," Diantha advised, "Should you need anyone from Kalos, I would be glad to spare who I can."

The other Champions nodded in agreement.

The conversation continued, Misty getting more and more nervous as it went on. They were making plans and she had no idea what she was supposed to think. At the moment they were discussing people they would need to execute their plan. There had been many suggestions made and all of them made sense. It was as though they were bartering off valuable citizens they could spare to assist Lance, it was a little weird, but it was important, she understood that. It still bothered her though, as if they were nothing but pawns.

Up until now only the Champions had spoken, none of the others had said a word, but Misty felt she had to say something under the circumstances.

"I know someone who could help," Misty spoke up, causing all eyes to shift towards her. She could feel Lance's cold stare burning through her, he obviously did not want her to speak but she knew she had to.

"What do they have to offer?" Cynthia asked.

"They're a trainer."

"And this trainer is competent?"

"I can vouch for him and say he's more than competent."

"I'll make that judgement when I meet him, if he's so wonderful; you're tasked with bringing him in." Lance replied dully, "What's this trainer's name?"

Misty opened her mouth to speak but before she could, someone beat her to it… Paul.

"Ash Ketchum."


	2. Cracks Forming

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Ash reflects on his past.

**March 6** **th** **, 2015**

**Petalburg Gym**

**2:34pm**

May twiddled her thumbs aimlessly as she sat in her kitchen. She was waiting for Max to hurry back home from the Town Hall and he was late. Perhaps he went to Littleroot Town to stop by Professor Birch's lab, maybe that was it. She knew that he was grown up and much too old for her to worry and fret over him and his whereabouts, but old big sister habits die hard, even if he would be fifteen this fall.

All the same, she was intensely protective and proud of her obnoxious and perfect little brother, anyone would be. Over the past few years he'd been one of her few pillars of support she'd had and like her, he'd given everything up for their family. Today he'd be finalizing another service he'd done for her and her parents.

It hadn't been easy, her life that is, but she had her family, her friends, and her Pokemon. That didn't make it easier but it gave her a reason to smile every day and do what she had to.

"Meowwoo," purred Delcatty as it jumped up on May's lap,

"Thanks 'Catty, you can always tell when I need cheering up, huh?" May smiled as she began to stroke the cat Pokémon's fur, "Who's the cutest?"

"Meow!"

"Yes, you!" May cooed as she giggled slightly and continued to pat her Pokémon.

Just then May heard a knock at the front door,

"Max?" She wondered out loud.

"Nope," Her mother called as she answered the door, "But I'm sure you'll be pleased anyways."

May placed Delcatty on the ground and walked down the front hallway of her home and approached the doorway, very curious as to why her mother had said that.

There stood a man May knew very well, dressed in his usual extravagant clothing; his turquoise hair was partially covered by his white hat.

"Wallace!" May cried happily, "What are you doing here?"

The man lifted a hand in greeting, smiling with his natural charm.

"Just came to talk over a few things with you if your beautiful mother doesn't mind?"

Caroline laughed embarrassingly, waving him off,

"Please, I'm a married woman."

May rolled her eyes. Wallace was always such a flatterer and her mother took the compliments he gave her as if they were essential to her living and breathing. It was stupid but May was glad to see her mother smiling, even if it was because of the dramatic (and joking) sentiments of a man who was not May's father.

When they were alone Wallace asked,

"Is the gym closed?"

May blushed, she suspected this was because it was the afternoon and she was still in her pajama shorts, too big T-shirt and socks. She always felt underdressed in the Hoenn Champion's presence, but she had never spoken with him in her pajamas. This was a new kind of low.

"Yeah," She mumbled, "I'll go change."

"No need," Wallace spoke, "Everyone wears pajamas."

"At this time of day?" May asked skeptically.

"Some people wear pajamas then," He corrected himself as they entered the sitting room.

"Tea?" May asked as she picked up the kettle and poured a mug for herself.

"Thank you, no," Wallace declined, then changed the subject as May took her seat across from him, "I saw Maxwell at the Town Hall on my way here."

"Yup, he's finishing up the Gym Leader paperwork, he's going to start up in April and I'll be out of a job." May grinned jokingly.

"You won't be out of a job," Wallace assured her, "You forget that I offered you a job."

May frowned as she sipped her tea. He had, she'd agreed because the Region's Champion had asked her to but now she wasn't so sure about it. Her feet were so cold they probably had frost bite already. The past few years had slowly chipped away at May's confidence if she was being perfectly honest, and she was pretty sure she was the worst person for the job he'd offered her.

"Yeah, about that…" May began slowly, hesitating to speak and then bursting out, "Isn't there someone else who would do a waaay better job than me?"

Wallace leaned forward with his finger to his chin, and gave her a questioning look,

"Who?"

"Any of the other gym leaders! Why on earth would you want me to do this? I'm inexperienced compared to them!"

"Let's see… I can barely get Brawley to leave Dewford Island period, Liza and Tate are two people and therefor do not qualify, Flannery is not suited to that field of work due to her own inexperience, Roxanne wouldn't want to leave the school she teaches at, and Juan was a former teacher of mine so it would be odd for me to be in the position of power," Wallace reasoned, causing May to get slightly annoyed, the reasons he was giving made sense when she thought about it, but that didn't mean she qualified.

"What about Winona, you'd want to work with your girlfriend wouldn't you?" She argued.

"She'd flat out refuse if I asked, and due to the fact that she is a former girlfriend how well do you think that would work out?"

Damn. He got her there.

"Wattson?" Damn she was really reaching here.

"Too old, can't have him dying on me a few years in, is that insensitive to say? Besides it wouldn't be kind to ask. He's an old man who deserves a retirement even if he won't take it."

"Then what makes you think I can be an Elite Four member?"

That was what he wanted. He wanted her to become the Hoenn's newest Elite Four. Drake had passed away a few months back and apparently May was his best candidate. Not that impressive. When he asked May for the first time she thought he was desperate and crazy, in fact she'd laughed in his face thinking he was teasing her. She still looked back on that memory with extreme embarrassment.

"You have the talent; I've told you that before. Ever since I saw you in the Wallace Cup I've thought that you would suit both coordinating as well as League battling, and judging by the remarkable job you've done as a Gym Leader these past years, I'd say I was correct. Besides it would be interesting having someone with a coordinating background among us, you are still known for your flashy and beautiful battles after all," Wallace paused and hesitated before saying quietly, "It is amazing pay."

May sighed sadly, dejected,

"I know, and that's the only reason I'm doing this."

There was a time in her life when May wouldn't have accepted a job for money, but so many things had changed since then and it felt as though she had no choice. It wasn't for selfish reasons of course, but May still hated that she had taken a career path simply for cash.

There was silence among the two of them for a few minutes, May sipped her tea awkwardly and she could tell Wallace was unsure as to what he should say. She'd made him feel bad, and she felt guilty for it.

"So what brings you here anyways?" May asked, forcing a smile onto her face as she broke the silence.

"Actually something quite important," Wallace replied, "But I'll explain it to you when your brother arrives back home."

"Max? What would you need him for?" May asked, confused.

"I need both of you, if you'd be so kind of course."

As the Champion spoke May heard the door open,

"Guess who just became Petalburg's new Gym Leader?" A familiar voice called out excitedly.

"Ah! Perfect timing" May cried getting up quickly and rushing to the door, she greeted her brother with a warm hug.

"Congratulations," She grinned.

He'd grown so much, so much so he was an inch taller than her already, his forest green hair was no longer long and messy but neatly kept and buzzed underneath. He still wore his spectacles, but whenever May looked at him it reminded herself that he wasn't a little boy anymore, and he wouldn't need his big sister's affection.

"Heh heh," He chuckled, as he wrapped his arms around her, "Thanks."

"Did you get all of your Pokémon registered?"

"Yes, trust me, everything is in order," Max groaned, "I'm not that helpless."

May pulled away suddenly, remembering their guest,

"Oh Wallace is here to see you," She said in a voice probably too calm and quick to warn her brother that the Hoenn Champion specifically wished to see him.

"What?!"

**March 7** **th** **, 2015**

**Lumiose City Gym**

**7:43pm**

"Clemont," Bonnie whined, "Why can't you stay for the entire event?"

Serena laughed as she pulled up her short hair into a ponytail, it was always fun watching Bonnie go about her business, and today her business was hounding Clemont about Ash's Celebratory Event for his win at the Indigo Plateau. Apparently Clemont, who was invited to handle much of the lighting, sound, and anything to do with electricity, would have to leave early.

"Because…" Clemont replied half-heartedly, "Because of things…"

"Maybe you don't have a girlfriend because of your ridiculous excuses; I swear a Feebas wouldn't believe your lies."

"Lay off of him Bonnie;" Serena said gently, "I'm sure he can't help it, right Clemont?"

The boy scratched his short hair; he was apparently still uncomfortable with the new length. Bonnie had insisted he cut it and Serena had done the deed. Serena thought it was cute but Clemont didn't seem used to it yet,

"Thank you Serena," He sighed, "Listen to your best friend Bonnie, please!"

"Fine, but that doesn't change your relationship status," Bonnie said with her tongue stuck out.

The older brother rolled his eyes.

The three of them were in one of the many large rooms in the Lumiose City Gym. When Serena moved to the city three years ago to focus on her Pokémon Performances. Bonnie had offered her to use one of their many rooms for her practicing. Clemont renovated it to make it perfect for performance practice, complete with mirrored walls and a ballet bar for dancing, it had been a secret pleasure of hers and Clemont had picked up on the fact that she loved ballet so he put up the bar. She had thanked him over and over, and he'd been happy she liked it.

After she became the Kalos Queen in 2013, she'd gotten an agent and started up a career as a Pokémon Performer separate from the competitions. So now her and her Pokémon danced, sang, and performed for huge crowds. It was the strangest thing ever, she had… fans, people her were passionate about her performances and Pokémon. She'd made so many friends and had so many opportunities since then. It led to sponsorships, red carpet events, modeling, and so many strange and wondrous things. She loved it and her Pokémon did too. Serena was always careful to make sure that is was never just about her, it was her Pokémon that brought her this far.

"I'm so excited to see Ash," Bonnie grinned, "Do you think he'll be too busy for us? I mean the party is for him after all."

Serena shook her head; she had a lot of faith in Ash,

"Ash makes time for his friends, you know that right?"

"I guess… but still I better see him."

"Don't worry," Clemont reassured her as he adjusted his glasses, "Serena's right, we called him the other night, remember? He said that he'd see us, besides he'll be watching Serena's show as well."

"Good, because I would never forgive him if he didn't," Bonnie said with her arms crossed.

"Bonnie," Serena chastised, "You don't mean that."

"I might," She giggled, "So what are you planning for your performance?"

"I think might use Vivllion and Florges. Florges' Petal Dance and Vivillion's Psybeam are absolutely beautiful lately. Or maybe Meowstic and Clebable, they give a really fun performance that really excites a crowd." Serena decided as she daydreamt of her Pokémon's moves, "Delphox wanted to perform but I think it needs some rest, I think it's overworked."

Clemont laughed,

"That Pokémon is just like you, works too hard and doesn't know when to stop."

"I'll say," Bonnie agreed, "I think you're right though, 'Phox needs a well-deserved break, no matter how great you treat her. I think you should use Meowstic and Clefable, they always have the fun performances, Florges and Vivillions' would be too classy and elegant for a celebratory party."

"Yeah," Serena nodded, "You're right, I can always count on you for good advice."

"Whatever," She shrugged as if she already knew this information, "Anyways I better go, you two can keep chatting, I have somewhere to be."

Serena noticed Bonnie give her brother a pointed look, and Clemont appeared uncomfortable, though Serena wasn't one hundred percent why. It had been something that occurred often as of late but she never thought much of it. Maybe she should.

"I'll see you later Bonnie!" Serena called out as the girl began to leave.

Serena began stretching at the bar while Clemont propped up his bag against the wall and pulled out a book on engineering and began reading.

"How do you think she's doing?" Serena asked as she lifted her leg over the bar and stretched her arms out to grab her ankle.

"It's hard to tell with my sister," Clemont answered, not looking up from the pages, "She's been the same old same old since she got back from Sinnoh, but she hasn't been doing anything for the past few months. The fact that she's been lying low for so long is very odd for her."

Serena nodded in agreement,

"Yeah, she's normally itching to go off traveling and catch new Pokémon. She's had a hard time finding out what she wants, but I'm sure she'll get there. Maybe this down time is good for her."

Clemont shrugged, not convinced, Serena could tell he was worried for his sister.

"Don't worry Clemont; I took a long time to find out what I really wanted. Everything works out the way it should, so I trust her. She's my best friend, and she's got a lot of talent."

"Thanks…" Clemont mumbled, "You've been a really good friend to her… and me."

Serena looked at him softly; he wasn't meeting her eyes, even after all this time he still was shy around her. Bonnie had told her once that Clemont didn't think he deserved to have her as a friend. It was absurd and she thought it was sad he thought that.

"Hey," She said, succeeding in getting him to look back at her, "You know you guys mean the world to me, I only wish I could treat you two better."

Clemont appeared speechless so Serena continued,

"Together through thick and thin, right? That's what Ash says. We'll always be the best of friends and I won't let anything change that so get that through your genius head," Serena laughed, "We're all going to be fine, _including_ Bonnie."

"… Yeah."

**March 8** **th** **, 2015**

**Pallet Town**

**9:12pm**

Ash sighed happily as he sat in the living room of his house, Pikachu was sleeping next to him and his mum was on the couch across. They had been watching a film, but they hadn't paid much attention and it eventually ended, leaving the screen black. They were just sitting peacefully. He hadn't had much of that ever since he won, at least until he came here.

He'd had interview after interview and he'd been doing a million different types of things he never thought he would. Everyone looked at him different, it wasn't a bad thing necessarily, it was just nice to come back home to Pallet where everyone knew him as 'Ash, he's the goofy kid with a crazy dream, by the way Delia have you ever considered cutting back on that boy's sugar?'. That's who he was in his core, and they knew that.

He'd spent the day at Professor Oak's, hanging around with the Professor, Tracey, and Gary. It felt nice to be among old friends again, it brought a lot of nostalgia back and Ash was glad that after all these years they were still friends. He'd also received a call from Brock, he wasn't in Pewter City at the moment so he couldn't visit, but they had a long conversation and Ash forgot how much he missed having his friend around.

The day after tomorrow he'd be at a huge event, specifically held for him, and he'd be walking a red carpet, and having interviews. He'd also get to see a ton of his old traveling companions, which was a plus, and really the only reason he was excited at all. Luckily once April came around his space would generally be respected. It was an unspoken rule that during the season to bother a famous or popular trainer was interfering with their training, and apparently distracting trainers from their job was unacceptable. He'd have his match with the Elite Four this month and Lance (if he got that far) and then he'd be treated normally again, unless he succeeded and became Champion which kinda was his aim.

For now however, it was just him and his mum. Just the way it always used to be.

"Hey Mum?" He said, breaking their comfortable silence.

"Yes Sweetie?"

"You sure you can't come to that thingy?" He asked, referring to the party.

"I'm afraid not Love, I don't do well in such situations and I'm needed back here according to Professor Oak, besides you'll be catching up with everyone, too busy for your old mum." Delia replied with a smile, "By the way sweetheart, while you're there reconnecting with your friends make sure to remember I really want grandchildren."

"Mum!" Ash laughed, causing Pikachu to stir before falling back asleep, "You're thirty six years old, you really don't need any grandchildren yet."

"I'm just saying all the girls you've traveled with have been very nice. A daughter in law, what a thought." She daydreamed, putting her hand to her heart, "Please tell me one of them has caught your eye."

"Me? Married? You sure there isn't anything else in your tea there? Did Mimey spike it or something?"

"I'm only teasing, but one day I expect—"

"Let's change the subject," He interrupted, Ash had no idea but this conversation was making him uncomfortable. Eighteen years he'd lived and he'd yet to see the appeal of… well… that stuff.

"Is Meyer visiting any time soon?" Ash asked with a raised eyebrow turning the tables on his mother this time.

Delia Ketchum had met Meyer Delfosse, Clemont and Bonnie's dad, four or five years back. Apparently they hit it off because after a few months of talking and one chance meeting they were dating. Ash wasn't exactly one to understand that sort of thing but he really liked Meyer and any reason to see Clemont and Bonnie was reason enough for him to approve of his mother's boyfriend.

The distance had apparently been difficult, Ash knew all about that what with his friend group being scattered all across the country, but somehow the two of them had made it… work? He was glad to see his mum so happy with someone else, he wasn't quite sure how but her face changed. It was brighter… more alive and pretty. He'd asked Serena once why that was and she had only responded with something about women in love. Whatever that meant.

"I was just in Kalos Ash; think whatever you like but your old mum can survive longer than a few with with just video calls."

"I dunno, you guys are so weird," Ash pointed out, "Besides you're all after me about grandbabies and you're in your mid-thirties dating someone. I should be the one requesting a little brother or sister."

It was his mum's turn to turn red,

"Ash Reginald Ketchum, you should watch your mouth around your mother."

"Truce then?"

Delia chuckled to herself, nodding, and they settled back into a silence, one that didn't last very long due to the fact Ash was in the talking mood.

"Can you believe this happened?" He marveled, referring to the results of the Conference, "I mean I always talked big when I was a kid but what were the chances really? Pretty slim."

"Look at you being all serious," Delia teased, "And yes, I can believe this happened. No one your age has the kind of experience you have, young or not."

"That's true," Ash agreed, "Life's been pretty damn crazy, huh?"

"Language," She warned, wagging her index finger at him disapprovingly, "What? Just because you won the Indigo Plateau doesn't mean you can say whatever you want in my house."

"Ha…" Ash snickered lightly, "Sorry about that."

"But you are correct; life has been pretty darn crazy." His mother sighed as she spoke; seeming as though she was looking back into a past Ash didn't know of, she did that a lot, "You've loved it though, right? You had a happy childhood; I did everything you could have wanted?"

"Well you never gave me a second cookie after dinner, but other than that, I'm lucky to be your son," Ash joked, "Why so serious?"

Delia looked at her lap and shrugged with uncertainty,

"I don't know. I just wish I could have done better by you because you've done so much for me. I wish you could have had different circumstances."

Ah, now Ash understood. She was referring to his lack of father. Ash didn't give it as much thought as he used to. When he was younger he would wonder why all the other kids had a dad and he didn't, and during the first couple years of traveling he wondered if his father had traveled there and wondered what he'd accomplished. Eventually Ash accepted that his dad wasn't on his own Pokémon journey, but was long gone, never to be seen again. He accepted that. Ash wasn't mature by any means, but he could understand that and had since his travels in Sinnoh.

It was around that time when the thoughts of what effects the lack of father had on his life took a hold of him. He worried that he'd missed something not growing up with a dad. Eventually Ash realized something important, so many of his friends didn't have dads. Brock's was unreliable, Misty's parents were dead, Dawn and Serena didn't have a father just like him, Iris had never mentioned parents, and Cilan's were always absent. Those friends turned out to be some of the best people he'd met. That was them, not their lack of parental guidance. Ash was who he was because he had his mum and Professor Oak, and he finally came to terms with it. They were more than enough. Better than what he could ever ask for. And now Meyer was a large part of the family and though Ash didn't see him as a father, he was the best uncle-like guy he could ask for.

"I love this town, I love our friends, I love our family," Ash assured her, "That's all that matters, and if that's all I ever have then that's all I need to know."

Delia looked at him with misty eyes, which she quickly wiped with the back of her hand.

"You really are the best thing that ever happened to me," She said shakily, "And as an answer to your question, I never doubted you'd get this far, from the moment I first saw you as a little tiny baby, I knew you'd be the best thing anyone could offer the world."

Ash wasn't a really serious person but his mum's words touched him. Getting up carefully as not to wake Pikachu he went to join his mother on her couch.

"Sorry for leaving you alone all those years…" He mumbled as he wrapped her up in his arms. He remembered a time when he was small and short in her grip, when her hugs completely smothered him. Now it was almost the other way around, his mother was a small woman and Ash was not exactly a small person anymore. It was almost sad, it hit him that ever since he'd left home at ten he'd never really been her baby anymore. He grew and grew without her and he'd never go back to the early years when he was young and Mum was the most powerful person in the world.

"Don't apologize," She replied, "You did what was right for you, and I was never alone. Like you said, we have friends and family here. They're everywhere, if you know where to look."

**March 9** **th** **, 2015**

**A Viridian City Pub**

**1:48am**

Gary Oak was not normally one to spend his nights in a pub, normally his all-nighters involved a lot more books and research (as lame as it sounded). It was a pain in the ass but he sure as hell wasn't passing up the chance to do what he was about to. He'd been waiting years for a moment akin to this and he was going to do it with wit and sarcasm, the best parts of his personality.

For a place people went to get wasted, it wasn't so bad in this particular bar. The drunks were quiet and sad, cradling bottles of whatever they were drinking as if they were infants. There wasn't any ruckus, just a soft murmur of conversation and the sound of the bar tender preparing drinks. A smooth voice sang and played woes on the tiny stage where the bar singer stood, setting a low key feel. It wasn't however enough to distract him from the dingy, smelly, and generally repulsive atmosphere most bars had.

Giving in, he hung up his coat on the hanger at the door and walked in.

The room was dim and hazy due to the lack of good lighting and the group of men smoking in the back corner. Still Gary was very sure of his target, the woman, or girl; he didn't really know what to refer to her as anymore. The one sitting at the bar stool looking like she'd pop a vein if she thought any harder. She wore a black trench coat that fell just above her knees, a dark brimmed hat, and shoes that made her appear much taller than she actually was. Another fake thing about her.

He almost didn't recognize her, but with the combination of her ashy brown hair and the angst (or was it a false sense of superiority?) she was radiating; Gary knew exactly who it was.

He approached the bar and took a seat a few stools from her; she paid him no mind, obviously off in her little world. Typical, in all the years she'd known him she was only concerned about herself and… well one other person, and that person sure as hell was not Gary Oak.

"Whiskey, on the rocks," He said to the bar tender while holding up his ID, he was barely old enough to legally drink after all. The man nodded before going to fix his drink and to Gary's luck, it didn't take very long. He thanked the bar tender and took a sip. Gary didn't normally indulge in alcohol, mostly because he worked as a Scientist and getting drunk was hardly a good idea in that profession, but whenever he did drink he always leaned towards the harder stuff. He didn't know why, and he never drank enough to get anything passed buzzed, but it had just become something he did. Maybe it was because his grandfather always kept that sort of thing in the house for special occasions. He used to sneak it when he was thirteen or fourteen, until Tracey tattled.

Gary turned to his target and observed her with a critical eye; despite her older appearance her arrogance was very apparent in her countenance. Not that he himself didn't have a cocky side, he'd admit to that, but this girl took it to a whole other level. Perhaps he was biased… OK, he was biased but that didn't change her personality, just the strength of Gary's disdain for her.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Leaf Green Talbot," He smirked, causing her to jerk her head towards him, when she saw who he was her lips curled with distaste. An expected reaction, predicable even.

"Gary Orlando Oak," She said through gritted teeth, also addressing him by his full name, "It's been a long time."

"Not long enough." And he meant it, he may have wanted to do this since he was given the chance but he knew now looking at her that no matter when they saw each other it would be too soon for him.

"What on earth are doing here and why the hell would you talk to me?" There it was, her hostility.

"Dunno," He said cryptically as he took another sip of his drink, "Why are you talking to me?"

"Because you approached me," She deadpanned.

"Didn't stop you before, now did it?" He taunted, knowing that would hit a nerve, "What are you doing here anyways? You came this far but didn't have the lady balls to come back to Pallet? I'm not surprised; Ash is back home by the way. Did that stop you from visiting, or is it the general town that makes your face look constipated?"

Leaf turned her body to face him, eyes narrowed and lips tight,

"If you don't mind, please stop talking to me."

"Naw," Gary said with a shake of his head, resting his chin in his hand as he eyed her, "So what've you been up to these past seven years, huh?"

"Not your concern," She replied shortly.

"At least let me guess," Gary said in a tone he knew would piss her off, he then whispered a word in her ear causing her to jerk back and push him away from her.

"Did _he_ send you?" She demanded angrily, eyes flashing from underneath the brim of her hat.

"Guilty as charged," Gary said flippantly, "I'm sure you yourself are aware of the situation at hand, he thinks it's time for you to stop playing Lone Ranger, or whatever dark horse-like role you've been trying at, and come back. I think the idiot's crazy to want _you_ of all people, but hey, we can't all be as smart as me."

"You can tell him to shove it up his and while you're at it, shove it up yours." She snapped.

"We may share the same dislike of said person, trust me it kills me to know that we agree something, but that doesn't mean you should act like a complete fool."

"I'm not a fool Gary I'm—"

"Blind to the faults of others? A vindictive control freak? If that's what you were going to say, then yes, I agree."

"I was going to say I'm not… doing that sort of stuff anymore. I quit. I'm guessing he told you about that as well."

Leaf just had to make this so difficult didn't she? Everything had to be a battle or an argument or whatever allowed her to berate others.

"He also told me you weren't fully resigned, simply 'on leave' or a 'rouge' or whatever excuse he put in place for you."

"Either way," She sniffed haughtily, "I'm not coming back, not when I'm this close, and certainly not at the call of his errand boy."

"Oh I'm not an errand boy," Gary laughed darkly, "I volunteered. How could I pass up the chance to rip into you after ten years?"

"You haven't changed a bit."

"The same could be said about you," Gary smiled sweetly, "And if you think you're close, yes I know what you're doing it's so painfully obvious, then you're more delusional than I thought. And I didn't think much of you to begin with sweetheart."

Leaf stared at him blankly,

"You can tell your little friend I refused his offer. I have my own plans."

He'd expected that, wanted it even.

"Whatever you say," Gary shrugged as his gulped down the rest of his drink, and then wrote his number on a stray napkin. He slid it across the table when he had finished.

"Why are you giving me this?" She asked.

"Because I have my own agenda too, and if yours ever coincides with mine, you can give me a call."

She took the napkin from the counter and looked at is as if it might blow up if she touched it. Eventually she placed it in her coat pocket.

"Now aren't you going to give me yours?" He inquired.

"Not a chance."

"You're right, I'd never come to you anyways," Gary nodded in agreement, "Soon enough you'll come crawling back begging for my help, you always did you know."

"I forgot how much of bastard you are."

"Too bad, such an oversight on your part. I never forgot how much of a bitch you were— and are. Smell ya later."

With that Gary got up from the table, unsure as to what he felt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here's the second chapter. I won't usually update this quickly. This is kind of an exception.
> 
> May's reasoning for a lot of things will eventually come clear, why she's a gym leader, why she's lost her confidence. Just not yet. She's definitely not the way we know, there's hints of her, but she's very much changed. She's eighteen by the way, and as stated Max is fifteen. I'll make sure to let you know ages if they aren't mentioned.
> 
> Serena, Clemont, and Bonnie are still beautiful friends and it's awesome. Bonnie is thirteen, Serena is fifteen, Clemont is sixteen.
> 
> Gary definitely does not have a good relationship with Leaf, I really like writing those two. They're both eighteen as well.
> 
> More characters will show up in the next chapter.
> 
> To everyone who reviewed, favourited and followed this story, thanks so much!
> 
> If anyone has questions hit me up on tumblr or PM me.


	3. Bad Vibes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Something Iris can't shake, Drew's bitterness, and Ash's celebration

**March 9** **th**

**Opelucid City, Iris's apartment**

**7:31am**

Iris rubbed her sleepy eyes, not wanting to get up. Her bed was much too comfortable and warm this morning, but there was a little brat in her bed that didn't seem to want to let her be.

"Fraaa…" Mumbled Fraxure as it pushed on Iris's shoulder to wake her up.

"Fraxure, leave me alone, I'm sleepy…" She said groggily as she pulled the covers tighter to her body, "If you keep waking me up like this I am not letting you sleep in my bed anymore."

"Fraxuuure!" The dragon type persisted.

"Good grief you monster," She growled, finally getting out of bed and meandering her way around her room, "Why do you have to do this to me?"

As she walked by she stared in the mirror.

"Ugh," She said, pulling a face when she saw her tired and dishevelled appearance, "I almost feel sorry for myself."

"Fraaxx," Her Pokémon reassured her.

"Thanks man," Iris replied, "But you don't need to lie to make me feel better."

Iris took a look at her answering machine, she had three messages she hadn't listened to. She pressed play.

_"Iris Maharaj, just a call to remind you that on the 24_ _th_ _of March the League will be stopping by Opelucid Gym to conduct the annual inspection before the Trainer's Licenses are distributed on April 1_ _st_ _for the beginning of a new battle season. Please be sure to take the proper precautions and procedures before this time."_

How boring, she hated the inspections the League conducted. She might just not be in that day,

_"Hey Iris, make sure to be ready to head to Kanto tomorrow. The plane leaves at ten, see you then!"_

That was Cress. She must have been out when he called.

_"Hey Iris, just wanted to let you know that—"_

She shut it off; she didn't need a message from each of the Auclair triplets reminding her of things she already knew. Iris wasn't so air headed that she wouldn't be able to remember things; she had no idea why those three thought she needed reminders, not when they were more like kids than she was.

Iris yawned as she left her bedroom and wrapped her bathrobe around her waist and pulled her insanely large purple bird's nest she called hair, into a bun and started the coffee pot. She stared at her apartment and groaned, it was a mess, she really should have started cleaning this place a long time ago. Really it was just a rebellion against the fact that she had to live in the city and couldn't live freely in a forest like she wanted. Her flat could be as messy as she liked, but Cilan and his brothers would be here in... Iris checked the clock, they would be here any second.

Fraxure gestured towards her suitcases.

"Crap, I overslept, thanks for waking me up Fraxure" She muttered sarcastically, scrambling to get her coffee and find clean clothes that she hadn't packed in her suitcases. There weren't any clean clothes! "Augh, this sucks where are my all my clothes— oh right in the laundry! The laundry I was supposed to do last week!"

There was a knock at the door.

"Dammit," She whispered harshly. That would be them.

She rushed to step over all the junk, stubbing her toe part way there, and open her door,

"Hey," She said, slightly out of breath due to the rush, and spilling a bit of her coffee on the floor, "Oops."

"Iris," Cilan chastised, "We have to be at the airport in half an hour, you aren't even dressed. I called and left you a message earlier this morning saying we were on our way."

So maybe she should have paid more attention to them. Oops again.

"Are you going to wipe that up?" Asked Cress, referring to her spilt beverage.

"I know, I know, just give me a second, I'll be right out, and don't give me that look Chili, this isn't funny." Iris grouched.

"I thought it was," The redhead laughed.

Stupid brothers.

**March 9** **th** **, 2015**

**Plane to Kanto**

**12:32pm**

"So why are you even going to this thing?" Iris asked Cilan as they sat on the plane headed for Viridian City, "I mean other than the fact that Ash is going to be there, you accepted the invitation before you even knew who the finalists were."

Cilan looked at her strangely,

"Aren't all Gym Leaders kind of expected to go to these things? I thought they were a huge publicity thing and anyone considered 'high status' in the Pokémon field were invited. It's like this exclusive thing that only celebrities are invited to."

"That's so weird, why on earth would they want people like us?"

"We're both part of the League, and I'm a well-known as a S-Class Connoisseur so— " He explained, "Wait, you've been a Gym Leader for the past four years, haven't you been to one of these things before? There are League Winners every year after all."

Iris laughed,

"Well yeah, but I either blow it off or I ditched halfway through each time remember? I'm exceedingly good at that."

"Oh yes," Cilan chuckled, probably remembering the many scenes she'd made to get out of things early.

She was notorious for skipping out on events before anyone else, she hated stuffy things like this, and there was usually nothing involved in it except posing for cameras and sitting down for ungodly periods of time. At least this one was kind of fun. After the initial media crap and ceremony for Ash there was an outdoor after party in which there would be actual fun things to do. That was when she hoped to meet up with Ash and some of his friends she'd met over the years.

"Besides Adler asked me something weird the other day that's all," Iris confessed, "He asked me if I wanted to stay behind to keep an eye on things, like it was an option. I wish I'd known that before. I mean, I told him that Ash was a close friend and I couldn't miss it. Still, it was strange."

"He never asked me that," Cilan contemplated, "That does sound odd but I'm sure it's nothing. He really took you under his wings these past few years so maybe he was just doing you a solid. It's obvious you hate these sorts of things."

Iris frowned, trying to accept that, but something was eating at her gut and it didn't seem to want to go away. When it came to her instincts, Iris always acted upon them; it was something that had been drilled into her back when she still lived in the Village of Dragons. She almost let it go but then she remembered something else.

"Apparently Cheren, Clay, and Brycen are staying back," Iris pointed out, "I don't know, I have a really bad feeling about this. Do you think some of the other region's Gym Leaders are staying back?"

Cilan patted her shoulder in the most obnoxiously cute manner, causing Iris to blush slightly, mostly indignantly (she hated be treated like a little kid) but partly out of embarrassment. The green haired Connoisseur seemed to have that effect on her.

"Don't worry about, just focus on the fact that we're about to meet up with Ash again."

"Yeah…" Iris said, still not convinced, "But still, I can't help but have a bad feeling about this."

It really was bothering her though; she wouldn't continue bothering Cilan with it anymore but she couldn't help but think about it. It was the way Adler asked her, it was like there was something that actually needed protecting. Adler was seldom a serious man, but he was acting a little dodgy when he asked her. They'd had a lot of comings and goings in the past and she would consider him someone he trusted, a close friend even, but…

Whatever, if it really was bothering her so much she could ask Adler at the party.

The thought didn't leave her head for the rest of the plane ride though.

**March 10** **th** **, 2015**

**Varidian City Hotel**

**4:54pm**

Drew sighed as he stared at the three piece suit sitting on the bed in his hotel room. He'd have to put that damn thing in a while and go to another one of those stupid ass events, and for that kid Ash Ketchum too. He'd never loved the guy, he always rubbed Drew the wrong way, and he most certainly wasn't looking forward to spending his night at a party that kissed his ass.

Maybe he was being immature—scratch that, he was. He hadn't seen Ash since he was eleven years old; having some sort of beef against him was pointless and idiotic.

Still, he had to go to this thing. Drew was starting to get sick of these events, for a while they weren't so bad, back when it was all new and exciting, but after a while it got much more annoying. He'd won his first Grand Festival in Sinnoh when he was thirteen, again in Hoenn when he was sixteen. The fame that came with it… well it was no longer something Drew was as interested in. Faking it for cameras was something he could do easily, every contest he'd ever participated had prepared him for the acting that went along with public appearances. He just didn't see the point, sure he had loved coordinating and he still had a passion for it, but things got boring when you win them too easily and the attention that came with it wasn't worth the win most of the time. Either way, he was not looking forward to tonight, for reasons beyond just that.

He was just being grumpy, usually Drew wasn't such a wet blanket but there was something that was bothering about tonight, he just couldn't pinpoint the source as to why. He had an early plane this morning to get to Kanto which probably hadn't helped his mood, but it was more than that. He just had this feeling… he wasn't sure what the exact emotion was but it was offsetting and he couldn't shake it.

There was a knock at his door, causing his thoughts to go on hold. He was slightly annoyed due to his desire to be left alone until the event started. He hesitated before reaching for the gold doorknob.

When he opened the door it revealed a tall and familiar woman with short, salmon pink hair and a warm smile,

"Andrew." She greeted, using his full name, had she been anyone else Drew would have corrected her, but it was her and he didn't mind when it was.

"Solidad."

"What are you doing still doing here? Shouldn't your beauty team be here to make you pretty?" She teased.

Drew rolled his eyes at her sad attempt at humour, but opened the door further and gestured to let her in the room,

"I see you're all dressed to go," He said, remarking on her backless black gown, which hugged her body dangerously tight.

"And I see you're not," She remarked, twirling for him, showing off her dress, "Put on your suit Andrew before I strip you down and force it on you."

Drew sighed,

"I have a mother, thank you," He said sarcastically, "I'll change when you leave, so please don't harass me."

"I'm sure your mother would agree with me, on more than one subject too, you imbecile." She said as she jokingly wagged a finger in his face.

The only reason he was tolerating this teasing was because he knew her and trusted her so much. She'd known him since his first contest when he first started out on his journey; she'd been somewhat of a mentor to him during his early years. Sure, sometimes she acted too much like a guardian but Drew didn't mind, so long as it was coming from her. He had a high respect and regard for Solidad after all.

Solidad made herself comfortable on the hotel bed and kept looking at him with her with eyes that said, 'there's an elephant in the room'. Drew knew he would regret asking but he dared to touch on the subject,

"What do you want?"

"I was just thinking that, since May will—"

There it was. Of course she'd bring that up. Nosy woman.

"Alright I'm going to cut you off right there," Drew interrupted, "I hope this isn't why you came to talk to me because I don't really feel that's relevant."

Solidad pursed her lips in frustration, still determined to continue on the topic,

"I think it is, you haven't talked to her in ages, and you haven't seen her for even longer."

"That's not my fault," Drew muttered, not meeting the eyes of the speaker.

"It's not hers either."

"I know that," Drew replied rubbing his forehead, he felt a headache coming on, "But just because what happened was out of our control doesn't mean I feel like talking about a girl I knew back when I was a kid."

"Fine, fair enough, but you'll have to see her eventually. It's been a long time and I just want to make sure that you're OK."

Alright he drew the line there, Drew was not in the habit of discussing what had gone on between him and May and even Solidad wasn't an exception to that rule. There wasn't even anything really to say, it had already been said and settled. People drifted apart it was natural and completely normal particularly during teenage years. He didn't see how May Maple was any different.

Sure he was lying a little, but people lied to themselves all the time.

"That's fine," He reassured her, "I can handle myself. By the way, is Harley going to be here?" Now there was someone who Drew was shocked he'd kept in contact with, it was unwilling contact but it was contact none the less.

"You're so uncomfortable with the conversation you're bringing up Harley? Fine I'll drop the subject." Solidad asked, eyebrows raised, "If you're that interested, he's hosting the television event."

"Good, he'll be out of my hair."

"Hmm… don't think so, he'll be interviewing on the red carpet."

"Dammit."

"I should leave you alone to get yourself dressed, seriously though, you don't have much time." The woman warned, "If you'll excuse me, I apparently am late for hair and makeup, bye Drew!"

"Later," He said absentmindedly as she exited his hotel room.

He gave the suit a long look, then gave up, he better just get this over with.

* * *

After Drew had finished with all the primping that went along with red carpet events he'd received a text from Zoey Daniels, a coordinator he'd met in Sinnoh years back. He'd seen her battle May before as well as become Top Coordinator at a Grand Festival that year and he remembered thinking he'd like to battle her. A couple years later they met and he defeated her in the finals at the Sinnoh Grand Festival. He liked Zoey, she was very much a 'What you see is what you get' type of person and Drew appreciated that in people in his industry.

Anyways, Zoey wanted to meet up before all the interviews and red carpet events at seven o'clock. He'd said he would, he had nothing better to do and he hadn't seen Zoey in a few months so he figured why not?

They were set to meet backstage so Drew set his course that way. On his way he ran into Kenny Newville, another Coordinator who he'd met in Sinnoh. He sometimes made Drew want to punch him in the face, a feeling that was shared by many others who knew Kenny, but all in all he was talented and generally a pretty nice guy, when he wasn't being an idiot.

"Hey Drew," Kenny said as he ran to catch up with Drew, and eventually fell into step with him, "Where ya headed?"

"I'm meeting Zoey," Drew replied absentmindedly.

"You're meeting up with Zoey and Deedee too? Cool, I'm headed there myself."

Drew nodded but didn't know how to reply, it didn't matter however as Kenny continued talking as he normally would. That was one thing that was good about Kenny, there was never a lull in the conversation since Kenny tended to fill it and one was able to not speak if they wished.

"I'm actually pretty excited for tonight," He babbled, "I knew the guy that won, he traveled with Dawn for a while and he was actually alright. You saw the battle, right?"

Drew nodded again. Despite his lack of regard towards Ash, he had to admit he put up a good battle, and he deserved the win he'd received. Drew had been impressed with his growth since the two of them had battled when they were kids.

"It was a pretty awesome battle, huh? I beat him once a long time ago, but I doubt that would be the case now. You ever met him?"

"A long time ago," He muttered.

Kenny looked at him strangely,

"You're not too happy tonight are you?"

"Just tired," Drew lied, "I'm sure once everything starts up I'll be fine."

"That's not likely is it?"

"No, I suppose not."

"Ah, here we are!" Kenny exclaimed, dropping the subject and opening the door to a backstage room, "Hey you guys!"

In the room stood three familiar faces, first was Zoey, a tomboyish girl with short red hair and a crisp pant suit. Then there was Dawn, a pretty girl with long blue hair and dressed in a lilac gown with flower details. Then there was… Harley. This day kept getting better and better.

"Hey Kenny, Drew!" Zoey greeted approaching them as they walked in, "Get yourselves a drink—wait not you Kenny you're underage."

"By one year!" He protested, "I'll be eighteen next year!"

"Drink all you like at the after party, when you aren't in my room. I would rather not get into trouble with the League over allowing babies to consume alcohol."

Kenny pouted; Dawn laughed lightly and patted him on his shoulder,

"It's alright Kenny; we can both be sober while these _adults_ make fools of themselves."

"Excuse me," Harley gasped, putting a hand to his heart, "I most certainly never make a fool of myself."

"Good one," Drew muttered sarcastically shuffling his way towards the drinks Zoey had provided, very glad that he didn't have the same problem Kenny did. A drink might do him good.

"Shut up Cabbage Patch Kid," Harley snapped, earning him a sneer from Drew.

"Don't be rude," Dawn chastised but she giggled too despite her words.

"Don't you have interviews in ten minutes?" Zoey asked, obviously ready to dissolve the tension between Drew and Harley.

"Whatever," The purple haired Coordinator sighed dramatically, brushing everyone off and leaving with an inappropriate amount of flair, "Look forward to seeing me later tonight."

"I'm sure we will," Zoey smirked, shooting Drew a knowing look. Drew rolled his eyes in return. He knew that she was just as annoyed by him as he was, Drew didn't know why he kept that guy around, probably because Solidad insisted upon it, why that purple haired joke was her best friend he had no idea.

"I do like him," Dawn smiled once he left the room, "But sometimes… I don't know…"

"He drives me insane," Kenny cut in, "Don't pretend he doesn't do the same to you Dee Dee."

"You won't hear me disagreeing," Drew muttered in agreement, Zoey nodded solemnly.

The four of them continued in casual conversation, nothing particularly interesting, but enough to keep Drew's attention. His mind kept wandering and that weird feeling in his stomach wouldn't go away. It was worse than butterflies, it was a dreading sensation, as if he was waiting for something to happen but he wasn't sure when it would.

As they spoke the door burst open, causing Dawn to yelp and in came someone he hadn't seen in a long time.

"You guys will never guess who I just saw walking over here!" May cried excitedly, waving her hands about in a frantic fashion, "I saw Serena Collette! She was so pretty and I just about made a fool of myself and peed my pants when I saw her."

May continued on tittle tattling while Drew watched her in shock. He hadn't seen her since before his first Johto Grand Festival, she looked a lot different, but very similar at the same time. She wore highwaisted shorts with a sheer skirt reaching down to her feet. She was still pretty, as he had thought many years ago, but ultimately she was a stranger, someone he did not know. His face felt warm and his palms felt sweaty, he hated these types of encounters and there was no way of getting out of this one.

"Oops!" She said suddenly rushing towards Dawn and Zoey and embracing them enthusiastically, "I completely forgot to say hi." She pulled away and hugged Kenny next, "Sorry about that, I was so starstruck it completely flew over my head, that's just— oh."

May stopped in her tracks and froze when her eyes lay on him. He couldn't decipher the expression that dawned on her face. She seemed to be surprised, scared, eager… something else, he couldn't tell. It struck him how very much the same she seemed to be, bright eyed and innocent. He knew she had many cares in the world but she didn't show it, she remained the way he had known her.

He nodded towards her in acknowledgment, unsure as to what he was supposed to do in this situation.

"Drew," She breathed, a cautious smile playing at her lips, "It's been… a really long time."

"Yeah, guess so," He shrugged, "How's everything?"

He cursed himself at his stupidity, what a dumb question to ask. He didn't mean anything by it of course and he wasn't quite sure what to say, but that didn't make it any less senseless.

May didn't seem offended or anything of the sort, she just smiled sadly,

"As good as you might expect I suppose."

Drew felt sorry for her, because he knew that meant that things weren't good at all.

**March 10** **th** **, 2015**

**Indigo League**

**9:17pm**

Dawn laughed excitedly as she made her way outside to the after party. She had changed into a much more comfortable dress after the ceremony had finished, it was a nice one and she was thrilled for Ash, but she was very glad it was over. After parties were, after all, much more exciting. She planned on meeting up with Ash and her friends at Serena's performance at ten o'clock. That was something she was dying to see, when May had said she'd seen her Dawn was pretty jealous. She'd been a fan of the girl's Pokémon Performances for a long time and took inspiration from them in her own appeals but had never been able to see her live.

Dawn wandered about excitedly, the outdoor party was something to behold. There were coloured lights all around and the decorations were absolutely stunning, the League put on a good party that was for sure.

"Dawn!" A voice called out excitedly, she turned around and saw May running up behind her waving crazily.

"May!" She responded with equal fervor, gripping onto the other girl's hands, "Where are you headed?"

"I'm looking for Ash," She replied, "You wanna come?"

"Of course, you'll need all the help you can get; he's the man of the evening after all."

The two set out in search of their old friend, the scent of the food seemed to be distracting May however, ever since she'd met May the girl had been insane about food.

"Focus," Dawn snickered, "We can get food when we find Ash."

May shook head as if to force herself not to eat any food she saw,

"You're right, besides Ash will want to eat just as much as me. Then I won't look bad when I eat a whole booth."

Dawn chuckled, that was probably true, May was the only person she knew who could eat more than Ash.

"Were you OK when you saw Drew back there…?" Dawn began carefully.

"You know it was awkward Dawn… I didn't know whether to hug him or shake his hand or pretend we'd never met, I'm usually fine with this sort of situation but I guess he's different." May mumbled, "He was a good friend to me and I wasn't a good one to him. I feel pretty bad; still I'm happy that he's doing well and everything."

"He didn't seem upset, just unsure what to say; he's pretty handsome isn't he?" Dawn said casually as she nudged her friend in the side with her elbow.

It was hard not to tease May about him, she'd heard about their comings and goings all those years ago and once Dawn had met the green haired coordinator she was pretty sure she wanted those two to get married and have beautiful green headed babies. But hey, that was just Dawn's opinion. She held zero hope in it though, as if May's present situation wasn't enough, the girl was also probably the worst at detecting when someone liked her. It was ironic because she could always tell when other people had a romantic connection but when it came to her own love life…? Nope.

May laughed, giving Dawn a look that told her she'd never even thought about it before,

"Is he? I guess you know better than I do, you competed with him at Unova's first Grand Festival, right?"

"Yup, I beat him too," Dawn bragged, it was a win that she took serious pride in, "I know you were impressed, weren't you?"

"Of course, I'd rather my best friend win then my former pompous former rival," May joked.

Dawn was always happy to know May shared the same sentiment as her, over the years they had become the best of friends. Dawn traveled in Hoenn often and always was prepared to visit May, this past year she'd taken the Contest Season off and stayed in Sinnoh so it had been ages since they'd seen each other face to face.

"Is Maylene here tonight? I really want to meet her already," May asked as they meandered their way through the crowds of people, "You've said so much about her I can't help but be curious. I've seen her in crowds before but I never spoke to her."

"I don't think so," Dawn said sadly, "She said she had to stay back, she didn't say why exactly, but that's what she said. I'm sure she'd rather be back in Sinnoh with Reggie anyways."

"Oh yeah! They're getting married in June, right?"

"Yup! I can't wait. I'm a bridesmaid so that should be super fun, can't wait to head back to see her."

"I love a good romance," May sighed, appearing as though she was daydreaming.

Dawn had been living in Veilstone City for the past year; she had decided to learn the ins and outs of Breeding to improve her skills with Pokemon and had asked Reggie if he could train her in the pursuit. She'd always been interested in it, what with her travels with Brock, a person who was very educated on the subject. Dawn had no intentions of becoming a full time Breeder but she'd seen the care and attention Breeders gave their Pokémon and Dawn wanted to treat her team the best she could so she figured she'd learn the tricks of the trade.

Reggie had accepted and Maylene, his girlfriend, had offered her lodging at her Gym. It had been well worth taking a season off of Contests. Dawn had loved it and her Pokémon had benefited from the experience so much. It had also given her the chance to befriend both Reggie and Maylene, she had so many fond memories with those two and she'd learned a lot from both of them. Apparently she had gushed enough about them to May over the phone that May was eager to meet the two of them.

"Rats, I really wanted to meet her," May pouted, but perked up quickly, "Hey is that Ash over there?"

Dawn turned and saw him, he was with some others, Dawn couldn't make them out but all she cared about was giving Ash the biggest congratulations she could muster.

"C'mon May!" Dawn grinned, grabbing her hand and rushed towards Ash, "Ash!"

The dark haired boy turned around and beamed brightly, Dawn was struck by how much older he looked. Sure they'd seen each other on screens, but she hadn't realized how much taller he was.

"You guys!" He raced to greet them and enveloped them into a hug.

The two girls gushed out congratulations so fast and so furious Ash had no room to get a word in. He simply scratched his head bashfully and laughed. Once the two of them thought they'd had enough fluffing of his ego they focused their attention towards the adorable Pokémon on his shoulder.

"Pika pi!" Pikachu cooed as Dawn and May stroked his head lovingly.

"Hey, Iris, Cilan!" Ash called out to the two others he'd been speaking with, "C'mere a sec!"

Dawn squealed when she saw two familiar faces,

"Ah! You guys, it's been too long!"

Iris smirked cheekily,

"My favourite little snarker, rip into Ash yet? His head's getting big as a balloon with all this attention, help me pop it with a few needles will ya?"

"Iris, behave." Cilan said with a roll of his eyes, "Good to see you again Dawn, as you can see, this girl has no idea how to act in polite conversation," Iris scoffed at this. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh crap," Ash stumbled around his words, "This is May, she traveled with me during the second year of my journey. She was Petalburg's Gym Leader and recently was promoted to an Elite Four member. May, this is Iris and Cilan, they traveled with me in Unova, they're both Gym Leaders as well."

"Ash…" May blushed, Dawn knew she disliked bring up the subject of her promotion and Dawn wished that Ash had the sense not to bring it up when he didn't have to; "It's nice to meet you two. I think I've seen you around at events but we've never met."

"It's a pleasure," Cilan said as his took May's hand, kissed it, and bowed.

"He's also good at making an ass of himself," Iris cut in, "But all the same, it's nice to meet you as well. By the way, Elite Four? I'm going to have to get some training tips from you, that is so cool. I'm already impressed."

May smiled weakly. Dawn understood why she didn't want to talk about it, the story was a long and complicated one and luckily Ash was someone who knew it because he changed the subject.

"Who else is here?" He asked, "I haven't seen everyone yet."

"Serena and Clemont are still preparing for her show, but Bonnie might be around somewhere." Iris replied with a finger to her chin.

"Wait." Dawn stopped her, "Serena? As in Kalos Queen, Serena?"

"Yeah why?" Iris asked as if it was no big deal.

"You guys know her?" May demanded, eyes shining with the awe for the perfection that was Serena.

"I traveled with her in Kalos; I thought I mentioned that to you guys. Apparently we met back when we were kids but no matter how hard I try I can't remember." Ash admitted.

Dawn was shocked, how could he forget someone as perfect as Serena. It was unthinkable. She almost chewed him out for this but thought better of it, this was a party and therefor she had to control her scolding.

"OK, you have to introduce me and May after her show." Dawn ordered.

"Big fans?" Cilan asked.

"You have no idea." Dawn and May replied in unison, and then laughed when they realized they'd spoken in sync.

"Have you seen Misty yet?" May asked, "I saw her at the ceremony and said hi, she was looking for you."

Ash perked up, and Pikachu's ears twitched excitedly,

"Chu?"

"Really? Guys I'm going to split, haven't seen Misty in years and I think I'm going to do something about it. I'll catch up with you guys at Serena's show," Ash smiled.

Ash ran off, in search for his old friend, one Dawn had never met but was very curious about.

"Did she really say that?" Dawn asked, from what she could tell Misty did not seem like the type to broadcast her friendship with the boy.

"No," May snickered, "But she was totally thinking it, I could tell. Delia Ketchum wants grandchildren and May Maple will be the one to help her!"

The three of them stared at her strangely,

"Uh… Crap not like that! I meant I'm going to set those two up! I swear I didn't… oh forget it, you guys are awful."

"I want to meet Misty," Iris pouted, "From what little that kid Ash would tell me she sounds like she's shrouded in mystery."

Dawn had to agree, she'd never met the girl and she suddenly becomes a member of the Indigo Elite Four, there was enough mystery surrounding the Elite Four as it was, it only made the water type trainer even more interesting. Misty was an unknown enigma to everyone except May, Ash, Max, and Brock.

"She's really not," May reassured her, "Anything but that, really. You'd like her I'm sure, she's kind of an open book, not anything like what you guys are thinking."

Iris was suddenly distracted by something that caught her eye; she turned around to face it with a large smile,

"Hey!" She cried out waving, "Bonnie, come here a second!"

A pretty young girl who didn't look much older than thirteen ran up to greet Iris and Cilan, her long blonde hair was tied into a braid and her smile was bright and excited. She raced up to Cilan and Iris and the first thing she demanded was,

"Where's Ash?" and, "Who are these people?"

Dawn couldn't help but be amused by the girl's lack of greeting and bluntness.

"I'm May, this is my friend Dawn, you just missed Ash actually. He'll be back soon if you want to wait for us." The brunette said sweetly, her obvious big sister instincts kicking in the second she saw a kid under the age of fifteen.

"I may have to kill him, he promised we'd meet up," Bonnie muttered, but then perked up, "It's nice to meet you two. I'm Bonnie and that automatically means I'm amazing and you two will love me."

"I think I'm in love," May sighed, fanning herself down jokingly, "I like this girl already."

Dawn nodded in agreement,

"You know Iris and Cilan?"

"I met her in Kalos when I visited Ash there one year," Iris explained, "She's Clemont, the Lumiose City Gym Leader's little sister."

Bonnie nodded with enthusiasm,

"If either of you feel like dating him, feel free, he needs a girlfriend."

Dawn looked at May and tried to hide her laughter,

"May is already spoken for," the brunette shot her a confused look before Dawn continued, "But if your brother feels like asking me out, you won't hear me complaining. He's cute; I've seen him on TV. His glasses are adorable."

Bonnie silently pumped her fist and mouthed the word 'Yes!'

"Wait," May asked, "How am I spoken for?"

Dawn gave the girl a look of mock pity,

"One day sweetheart, one day you will understand."

May still looked desperately confused, she opened her mouth to respond but thought the better of it and instead turned to Bonnie and asked,

"You wanna get food, I'm starving."

"You're always starving May," Dawn pointed out.

"Oh hush, you coming Bon Bon?"

Bonnie beamed brightly at the nickname,

"Yeah!"

The two ran off excitedly at the prospect of food. Dawn watched May fondly, the girl was a little bit crazy and a little bit strange, but watching her run with her arms flapping about was sort of charming.

"They seem chummy," Cilan commented. Iris nodded in agreement.

"I think I'm going to go find Ash, I want to meet this Misty lady. You coming Dawn?"

Dawn thought about it but decided to pass, she wanted to meet up with Zoey and Kenny again before the night was out.

"I think I'm going to wander around, see if I can meet anyone else I haven't seen a while."

Iris stuck out her lower lip but agreed,

"See ya soon then!"

Dawn waved and turned to leave. As fun as this party had been so far she'd had something else at the back of her mind, avoidance. There was a certain person that was here that she needed to make sure she didn't encounter. It probably wouldn't be too hard considering who it was but still, she had to keep her eyes peeled.

There were many reasons why she was hoping not to run into this person, but one stood out clearly in her mind, one she did not want brought back up.

That was probably why now that she was alone she felt a little anxious. Sure she'd felt it before the event even started, but that was probably why.

Still… May had been behaving a little different, always looking behind her shoulder and scanning the crowds carefully. It had Dawn put a little on edge and she couldn't shake the thought that something was going on that she didn't know about.

It was most likely nothing… right?

No need to worry.

* * *

Ash was stopped multiple times by people giving him their congratulations and kind words, normally he would be polite and stop to talk with them, but he was pretty sure most of them were drunk and he was pretty occupied with finding Misty before Serena's show at ten.

His eyes fell upon a girl with short orange hair.

Ah, there she was.

Her back was facing him but he recognized her voice from where he stood, and he could tell by her boisterous mannerisms that it was indeed the awful but awesome girl he met eight years ago. He decided it was a good idea to come up behind her and scare her out of her wits.

He placed a finger to his lips when Pikachu almost jumped of his shoulder to greet one of its favourite people.

"Shh… buddy we're going to scare her, OK?"

Understanding his trainer, Pikachu's face went from bubbly to serious and stealthy in a moment, ready to pounce.

Creeping up in what probably appeared to be a comical manner, Ash made his way closer to Misty. He was practically breathing down her neck when he jabbed both of his index fingers into her side and shouted,

"Boo!"

Misty shrieked and her first reaction was to smack whoever was behind her. Pain shot through his cheek. He should have known, Misty's temper was nothing to mess with and her right hook was even worse.

"Ow!" Ash cried out, shrinking away, "Don't hit me you witch!"

Misty's eyes recognized him and her face screwed up and she hit him again, only this time on the shoulder,

"Ash Ketchum you little Rattata," She yelled, looking partly pissed but partly happy to see him, "I should have known even after all these years you're still an idiot."

Yes, yes he was.

He was going to hold out on hugging her and pretend to be completely unaffected by the fact that they hadn't seen each other in ages. Sadly Pikachu betrayed him.

"Chu!"

The mouse Pokémon jumped into the girls arms and began nuzzling his face against her. He didn't know why Pikachu had such a soft spot when it came to Misty but it had made him jealous of the girl on more than one occasion. Pikachu was a little traitor, that's what the problem was.

"Nice to know that some friends are still decent people," Misty giggled rubbing its back earning a contented 'Chaa!' from the Pokémon.

"Hey, I'm awesome," Ash protested, "You should show me a little more respect Misty, case you didn't notice, this party here is for me!"

Misty crossed her arms and gave him an unimpressed look,

"So you won the Indigo League, big whoop. Someone wins every year, we'll see if you can get past me when we battle… that is, if you even get that far."

Ash knew she was mocking him, he knew she was doing it to get under his skin and get a rise out of him but that didn't make it any less infuriating.

"I'll kick your ass when we battle and you'll regret saying that about me once I'm Champion and you'll answer to me!"

"Good luck then, because out of all the years I've been an Elite Four no finalist has beaten me, why should you be any different?"

"Because I'm Ash Ketchum!"

"And that's supposed to impress me?"

They glared at each other for a good few moments, not breaking eye contact, and then they burst into laughter.

"It's also nice to know that even after all this time nothing really has changed," She said when her giggles died down, "Congratulations on your win by the way, I may talk crap but I'm really proud of you."

"Pikachu, did I hear that right? Did Misty just give me praise? I didn't know she could do that!"

"You're such a weirdo," The redhead said with a roll of her eyes, "I'll have you know I'm a very nice person!"

Ash gave her a skeptical look.

"Hey Pikachu, Misty just said she was…" He shuddered at the word, "Nice."

"Hey buddy, I am nice!" She protested, "You're just a brat and it's hard to put up with you."

"I missed you," He said, taking on a little less of a joking tone, "Sorry we haven't talked in ages."

He really meant it. He couldn't remember the last time he'd spoken with her, it felt like ages and it made him feel terrible that he hadn't sustained a regular friendship with her. That was the curse of traveling, you made bonds with such a great number of people but once you part… well it's hard to not feel like you're leaving them behind. That was why tonight was so important to him, it was his chance to reconnect with the people he cared for.

Misty smiled and sighed,

"We've been busy; a lot has changed in the past few years. We went different paths, but I have a feeling we'll be seeing a lot more of each other soon. Besides, no matter what we're always friends right?"

Ash opened his mouth to answer.

And then there was an explosion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Third chapter, yaaaa.
> 
> I probably won't update this baby again until I get another chapter out for Castles and Bricks.
> 
> May and Drew haven't spoken in a long time. Reasons will come eventually but not quite yet. Who Dawn was avoiding? Not telling quite yet.
> 
> By the way if I made any glaring grammar mistakes, I'm sorry. Feel free to point them out. I suck at revising no matter how hard I try.
> 
> Thanks so much for reading.


	4. Only The Start

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everything goes to hell.

**March 10** **th** **, 2015**

**Indigo League**

**9:57pm**

Serena screamed.

It had all happened so fast, all she knew that one moment she was jumping up and down in anticipation backstage in her performance outfit, ready for sound check and the next she heard a deafening bang, one that caused her ears to ring. When she pried her eyes open all she could see was fire, all she could feel was pain and heat.

Her mind was still fuzzy but from what she could tell the stage had exploded, and now the building was going up in flames.

She felt a hand on her shoulder; she spun around and saw that Clemont was by her side, worry and adrenaline piercing his eyes,

"Serena we have to go," He said, his voice uncharacteristically grave, "We have to go now."

Panic shot threw Serena's veins, her breathing began to quicken as she heard the screams from outside. She had to get her head back on, they were in trouble. If they didn't hurry up she and her friend would be consumed by the flames. Now wasn't the time to be scared.

So she ran, she grabbed onto Clemont's forearm and they ran down the hallway towards the back exit. Serena cursed her choice of shoes, she could run in heels, but she could run much faster without them. She flinched as she heard another explosion; then looked behind her and saw all the sound and lighting equipment bursting into flames. She forced herself to continue running along with Clemont, she could dwell on what was going on behind, her priority was getting the two of them out.

"What's going on!?" Serena shouted as Clemont grabbed her arm and pulled her away as the fire began causing other explosions closer to the two of them, "What about my Pokémon? Where are they?"

"I've got them!" He assured her as they ran out of the backstage area. They raced towards the exit as they reached the doorway another explosion burst through the door knocking the two of them back.

They fell down to the ground harshly, Serena furiously removed her shoes and winced as she tried to pull herself up, she must have sprained her wrist. Serena whimpered as she saw that the door was now blocked by the fire. Clemont grunted as he tossed a Pokéball out,

"Lanturn, use water gun on the flames!"

The Pokémon instantly shot a strong stream of water through its mouth and towards the flames, which it slowly doused out.

"Return," Clemont ordered, calling back Lanturn. He offered her his hand to help her up, she grabbed it, her wrist hurt like something else and she couldn't help wincing at the strain.

Serena then had a thought,

"Hand me Delphox," Serena demanded, and then explained when Clemont looked at her strangely, "Don't you hear the noise outside? There's battling, you should have Luxray out just in case. Something awful is happening and we have to find Bonnie!"

The two released their most trusted Pokémon and made their way through the flames and the door. What beheld them was terrifying.

Everything was in disarray, people were screaming, running, and battling. There was no way to tell what exactly had caused this but it was obvious that the outdoor stadium was not the only place a blast had occurred. There was smoke and fire everywhere and from what she could tell there were Pokémon attacking… people.

Serena froze as a Crobat assaulted an unarmed woman. She forced herself to look away.

"We have to find Bonnie, _now_!" Serena shouted over all the noise as she pulled her friend's arm, her eyes widened when Clemont didn't move an inch, she felt a rare feeling of anger bubble in her stomach and acted upon it, "What are you doing?! We have to find your sister!"

Clemont's eyes misted with conflicted tears,

"I… I know… but we have to go. I have a duty, and I can't leave you to find her alone."

Serena's eyes flashed, unable to believe what she was hearing, before she could reply a trainer dressed in dark clothes approached them,

"Machoke, use Dynamic Punch!"

The large Fighting Type ran towards them with incredible speed, Serena panicked, she wasn't a battler, she had no idea what to—

"Delphox use Psychic!" She cried out, recalling the type advantage her Pokémon had.

Delphox raised its flaming branch and the Machoke was encased by a psychic energy, stopping its attack, it then extended its psychic wave to the trainer that confronted them.

"Get him and his trainer out of the way!" She ordered, thrusting her arm out and pointing out far away from her and Clemont.

The Pokémon obeyed and swung its branch, causing the two to go flying. They were in the clear, for the moment. Serena then remembered Clemont's refusal to search for Bonnie. Turning back to the boy she shouted so hard tears began to spill from her eyes,

"This is your little sister! How can you leave her?! How could you do this?!"

"Trust her!" He yelled back, looking just as upset and broken, "If she knew what I was doing she'd do the same, now are you going to come with me or not?"

Serena blinked for a moment, still crying, she trusted Clemont with her life, but Bonnie was her best friend. She was like her sister, she couldn't leave her.

"I have to find—" She began before she was cut off by the blonde boy.

"Luxray, use Wild Charge!"

The black, blue, and yellow Pokémon shrouded itself in electricity and jumped to tackle its target, for a moment Serena thought he was going to hit her and she braced herself, but Luxray leapt over her head and hit a Raticate that had been about to jump up and bite her shoulder.

"Serena," Clemont gasped, looking absolutely terrified, "Please trust me, Bonnie is strong, but we need to leave."

Her teeth clamped over her lower lip for a moment, tears spilled from her eyes. How was she supposed to make this kind of choice, it wasn't one anyone should have to make. When she saw the look of anguish on Clemont's face it was obvious the struggle he was going through, he must have had a serious reason for not searching for his little sister. Those two had the closest relationship and it must have been eating him alive.

Serena took a deep breath, realizing what she had to do before she wiped her eyes and turned to her Pokémon,

"Delphox, make sure the path is clear for Clemont," She managed, "We're getting out of here."

* * *

May pulled helplessly at the wreckage that had fallen on Bonnie's leg. She wasn't sure where it came from but it was heavy and the poor girl couldn't get out from under it. She was crying and May was close to tears herself, there was chaos all around her and she was unable to do anything about it.

There was fighting everywhere and May had sent out Glaceon and Delcatty to defend them from the thugs that were attacking civilians while she attempted to free the younger girl. There was so much going on at once, and May's confidence had been stamped to the ground. This poor girl was suffering because May had failed to protect her. But showing Bonnie that she was scared was not an option, she was the girl's only hope and May couldn't disappoint. She'd never forgive herself if something happened to a little girl because of her.

"Just give me a second!" She grunted and she continued to attempt to lift the rubble from Bonnie's leg., "I'll have you out in a flash."

Bonnie didn't reply, probably due to the pain, and continued crying.

Just as she was about to try again May saw someone from the corner of her eye and her heart lifted, help. Someone who would help her.

"Drew!" She shouted desperately as he was running through the crowds, battling with his Absol, the boy stopped in his tracks and saw her and their predicament, his eyes widened and he rushed over to their sides.

"Oh Mew," He breathed, instantly getting on his knees without any explanation from May, "C'mon let's get this off."

"Thank you," Bonnie whimpered through her tears.

May almost burst into her own stream of tears due to the relief she felt when he said that, despite all the years they hadn't spoken he was still willing to help her. She was pretty sure she had never been so grateful. Taking a quick glance at her Pokémon and seeing that they were warding off any attackers efficiently she locked eyes with Drew and wordlessly they both positioned themselves to lift the wreckage. With a nod from Drew they both tensed their muscles ready to lift.

With the strength of two they were able to lift it long enough to allow Bonnie to escape. They dropped it to the ground, panting for breath when Bonnie was out of the line of fire. May was at her side immediately, checking her ankle and shin.

"I think the ankles broken, but the shin's just badly bruised."

Drew took a quick look and nodded in agreement.

"What's your name?" He asked in a surprisingly gentle voice, one that May had only heard in the few times in the years she'd known him.

"B-Bonnie," The girl managed through her pain.

"Well Bonnie," Drew said quietly as he knelt next to her, "You're going to be fine; I'm going to get you out of here, OK?"

May was touched. Somehow he had managed to calm down the poor injured girl and get her thinking somewhat clearly. May added shakily to Drew's reassuring statement,

"You're safe now Bon."

"So what now?" Drew asked gravely as he stood up and observed the hell breaking loose around them.

May bit her lip, she knew what she was supposed to do; she had an objective and a very clear goal. The only problem was that she couldn't bring others with her. Her eyes darted between Bonnie, who was helpless and crying, and Drew who was ready to do whatever it took to get them out.

No, she couldn't leave them here alone, screw the consequences she'd face, these two were coming with her and her mind was not about to be changed. It was just explaining it to the two trainers in front of her that would be a problem.

"OK, I have a job to do, don't ask me about it because I can't tell you. If you come with me I'm almost completely sure that you'll get out of here to somewhere safe."

"Yes," Bonnie said instantly, "If I slow you guys down… feel free to… y'know…"

"No," May said firmly, "You are getting out of here, besides how could I marry your brother if I left his sister alone?"

Bonnie let out a blubbering laugh through her tears, Drew looked really confused. If it had been a less dire situation May would have laughed at his dumbfounded expression. She meant what she said however, she had her own little brother and she would never forgive someone if they abandoned him. She was determined to get Bonnie back to Clemont.

"Then I'm in!"

May turned to Drew expectantly; he didn't say anything for a moment and studied her before saying,

"Let's get the hell out."

That was all May needed before she got into action,

"Glaceon, Delcatty return!" She called when she saw how exhausted the two looked, and then pulled out another Pokéball, enlarged it, then tossed in in the air, "Go Altaria!"

Drew followed her in suit,

"Return Absol! C'mon out Flygon."

The two Dragon Pokémon let out cries as they emerged from their Pokéballs. May's Altaria was pretty large for its breed but it wasn't big enough to carry both her and Bonnie.

"Drew, can Flygon take Bonnie as well?"

Picking Bonnie up carefully onto his back Drew nodded then mounted his Pokémon,

"Hold on tight," He muttered. Bonnie nodded fervently and clutched the green haired boy's waist.

Taking this as a signal to go, May hoisted herself up onto her own Pokémon.

"Altaria, let's get out of here."

And suddenly they were up high in the cold air, staring down at the flames below them.

* * *

"Pachirisu, use Thunder Shock!" Dawn ordered as a man with a Weezing attempted to throw them off with a smokescreen.

"Chipa!" The electric bolt ripped through the air and made contact with the Pokémon as well as its trainer, which allowed Dawn a chance to run. She hated hitting people with Pokémon attacks, but what choice did she have? Let her and her Pokémon die? Whoever it was that was ambushing obviously had no qualms about murder as Dawn had seen many a Pokémon and trainer, dead or bleeding out on the streets.

"Run!" She called out to the electric type and her Pokémon followed her as she continued to race through the streets.

Everything was a blur to Dawn, one moment she was walking fairly peacefully at a very lively party, the next she was fighting for her life, dodging explosions and doing things that only happened in action movies or when Ash was around (then again this party was in Ash's honour). It was absurd and she honestly had no idea where she was going or what her objective was. At the moment it was probably, don't get killed. That was somewhat of a challenge right now. The trainers who were attacking weren't showing any mercy whatsoever.

Dawn wasn't sure that she knew what exactly was going on, everything was going to hell and that was all anyone could be sure of. Whoever it was that was attacking was not clear at all, just that they had no remorse for what they were doing and would stop at nothing to get whatever it was they wanted.

As she ran she felt a hard force knock her down to the ground, she winced in pain as she felt the gravel scrape her knees. Turning around she saw that a Sandslash had tackled her and was now staring down at her menacingly.

She knew Pachirisu would be defenseless and have no effect on a Ground type so she called it back to its Pokéball. Before she could reach for Piplup the Sandslash was already charging towards her, she fumbled through her bag but her hands were shaking and she couldn't get a grip on anything. Right when she needed to be level headed and brave she couldn't even call out her Pokémon.

Was this it?

She was going to die via Sandslash?

Not the way she pictured it if she was being honest.

"Torterra, stand by for battle."

Huh?

"Razor Leaf!"

Suddenly, before the Sandslash could make a second attack on her it was stopped by a powerful Razor Leaf sending it flying away from her, without missing a beat Dawn quickly let out Piplup,

"Use Hydro Pump!" She shouted.

The penguin Pokémon obliged and let out a devastating water attack from its beak, and hitting right on target. The Pokémon had fainted.

Breathing a sigh of relief as Piplup jumped into her arms, Dawn turned to see who had saved her, but she had a pretty clear idea about what it was.

A large Torerra stood about twenty feet away from her and its trainer followed behind it.

Paul.

Tall, long mauve hair, dark expression. Just like she remembered

She didn't approach him, for her own reasons of course, but she did meet his eyes. They were as cold as ever, just a little livelier from battling. He motioned with his head for her to come over, Dawn frowned, feeling stubborn and not wanting to give him the satisfaction of being able to tell her what to do, but when the building behind began to crumble from the fire she shrieked and gave in. It wasn't a good idea to be alone right now, even if her pride would be slightly bruised.

When she approached him he didn't say anything, which was like him, but he'd called her over so Dawn thought he ought to say something.

This was not ideal. At all. It was really awkward in fact.

Before she could utter a word she heard someone shouting her name.

"Dawn!"

She whipped her head around to see Iris and Cilan, looking quite dishevelled, panting and running towards her.

"Are you guys OK?" Dawn cried as she enveloped Iris into a desperate hug. She was vaguely aware of Paul's uncomfortable and agitated expression but didn't care. She'd been so scared and knowing that at least two of her friends were OK was probably the best thing she could have found out.

"We're fine," Cilan said, Dawn couldn't help noting how uncharacteristically messy he appeared but put the thought out of her head, not was not the time to think about that, "Do you have any idea what's going on?"

She shook her head.

"Dammit," Iris cursed, "I knew something was going on… I should have listened to my gut."

This piqued Paul's interest,

"You?"

"Me?" Iris asked, looking exasperated by his monosyllabic and not very specific question.

"You a Gym Leader?"

"Me and him both." She replied as she gestured towards Cilan.

Paul pondered this a moment.

"Come on," He said curtly as he turned his heel the other way and began to leave.

"What the hell is his problem?" Iris asked, reluctantly following the man. Dawn winced, Iris had no intention of lowering her voice and it was obvious Paul could hear her. It was unlikely he cared much about what Iris thought though, this was Paul after all. Still, it did make things more than uncomfortable to say the least.

"Don't you recognize him," Cilan whispered, having a little more tact than his companion, "He's the new Champion of Sinnoh."

"Oops," Iris said, not sounding sorry at all.

"Paul, where are we going?" Dawn asked, instantly regretting it since she knew what his attitude was like normally when he was spoken to.

Even though she should have suspected it, she pursed her lips in annoyance when he didn't reply; Iris wrinkled her nose at this.

"Are you sure we should be following him? We don't know if we can trust him." Iris asked doubtfully.

Dawn hesitated, she could tell Paul was listening and that made it all the more difficult to answer. Truthfully she wasn't sure, looking down at Piplup she gave it a look begging for an answer but the Water Pokémon gave her no help.

Swallowing her pride Dawn responded,

"We should follow him."

Yes, she knew they should. As for Iris's other question, could he be trusted? Probably, but for some reason Dawn never could be sure.

* * *

"Misty, explain this to me one more time!" Ash grunted when they'd gotten somewhere relatively safe. They'd been running for what felt like forever, but they were getting closer.

The red head gave him a frustrated look, as she observed their forested surroundings.

"I can't! Not yet, besides it's too complicated and it's better if you hear it from someone else. I'll just end up getting mad at you and say it wrong!"

"You're already mad!" He protested.

"Exactly my freaking point!" She yelled back, "We have to get out of here, and there's a specific place that we actually have to go but I can't really tell you. Augh, I know it makes zero sense but please trust me on this!"

Ash's features softened much to Misty's relief; she was tired enough as it was and didn't want to fight with him. Any other day she would definitely argue with him since that was just what they did but everything royally sucked right now and she had to stick to their plan. Arguing with Ash, no matter how familiar, would not be any sort of help. Maybe he had grown up during the time they'd been apart, that would be a miracle.

"So what do we do?" He asked, as he lifted Pikachu to his shoulder.

"We meet at the rendezvous point and you'll get your answers."

"Sounds like a plan," Ash said confidently, then whispered, "What's a randezvous?"

"Ready to raise Cain?" Misty grinned, ignoring his statement.

"I have no idea what that means but yes."

"Pika!"

She rolled her eyes, and began dragging him by the collar towards their destination. It was a lot harder than it was back when he was ten, the boy was considerably larger now that he was eighteen. It almost made Misty sad, well, annoyed more than sad. He wasn't smaller than her now so she couldn't push him around as easily as she used to. That was a great loss.

"First things first, we have to get there."

"Well we're out of the main area of the Indigo Plateau, where to next?"

"We need to go a couple miles south, into the Victory Road caves."

"Always wanted to go there, not big deal," Ash grinned, as he headed west, seriously what did she just say? She was pretty damn sure she told him south, not west,"Alright, let's go."

"Ah, ah, ah, you are not leading the two of us anywhere. I remember your awful sense of direction more than anything else about you, I'll lead. Besides, I'm here so often and I know the area well."

Ash sagged, looking quite put out at her insults but Misty didn't really care much. They had to do things efficiently, maybe that didn't come easy to Misty but she knew out of the two of them she was by far the better choice in regards to navigation.

"Fine," He pouted, following as she jogged towards their destination and away from the burning buildings.

"It's dark in here," Ash complained as they meandered their way through the caves of Victory Road. He was right of course but Misty was starting to get annoyed with his whining. Normally she'd be the one doing that but in this case she had to have a little self-restraint.

"If you want light, send out a Pokémon," Misty said in a much quieter voice, "You have to be quieter though, there's some seriously powerful Pokémon around here and it would be best if we didn't have any unwelcome encounters."

He nodded and pulled a Pokéball from his pocket and let out his Infernape.

"Hey bud, keep watch for any wild Pokémon and light the way, would ya? "

Misty had to admit it did help to have a bit of light.

So they continued to wander through the twisting and turning caves, it was complicated as hell and Misty was ninety percent sure that they were lost; but that little ten percent said they weren't so therefor there was no need to let Ash know.

It was cold and despite the light radiating from Infernape it was still pretty creepy. Misty could hear the dripping of water from the cave's ceiling and knowing their situation she was pretty scared they'd run into trouble.

"Hey Mist," Ash said suddenly, causing her to jump.

"What?"

"You nervous or something? You're jumpy and jittery."

"Well aren't you? The Indigo Plateau was just attacked, you're being led in a creepy cave to an unknown place, and you have no idea what is going on." Misty ranted defensively.

"Uh… sorry," Ash said, more of a question than a statement, "Yeah I have clue what just happened, but I trust you so I'm not scared."

Oh. Damn him, he just had to pull out that trump card, now she couldn't get mad at him.

"Look, sorry for snapping. I'm just a little on edge and Victory Road gives me the creeps, it always has."

Ash didn't reply but silently agreed with her.

They didn't speak for the next ten or fifteen minutes, still wandering and hoping to find the rendezvous point. The tension was thick; at least for Misty it was, she could cut it with a knife. There was an unsettling feeling easing its way into her stomach and it was making her even more paranoid.

As they turned a corner Misty bumped into someone.

She screamed.

* * *

Clemont shouted in surprise when he bumped into someone. He adjusted his glasses when he caught his balance only to see a familiar face and his companion.

"Ash!" He cried out in surprise, "What are you doing here? And sorry for bumping into your friend, oh gosh you're Misty aren't you?"

The red head gave him a slightly annoyed look that only made Clemont slightly terrified but then she shook it off quickly,

"Yeah, you scared the crap out of me, sorry for screaming."

"Sorry about that."

Ash was grinning from ear to ear and practically jumping for joy as he spoke,

"Clemont, Serena, thank Arceus you're alright! How'd you two end up here?"

Serena shrugged eyes wide; Clemont could tell she was a little star struck from seeing Ash again. It was a widely known 'secret' amongst their friend group that Serena had feelings for Ash that dated back at least five years. At least he was pretty sure that was still a thing, he'd never talked to Serena about it. Clemont wasn't exactly an expert on romance but poor Ash was helpless and had no idea.

"I'm… not sure," Serena admitted, "Clemont's the one who brought me here."

The redhead looked at Clemont expectantly, causing him to avert his gaze. He didn't know why but she was intimidating and he knew he was technically breaking rules bringing Serena along with him.

"You're a gym leader right?" She asked, breaking the silence.

"Yes."

"Are we both headed for the same place?" It was obvious as to what she was hinting at, as she asked he breathed a sigh of relief. Knowing someone else was aware of what was going on was a weight off Clemont's shoulders.

"Yes."

"Then I guess we should stick together." Misty smiled, holding her hand out, "I'm Misty."

"Clemont," He said taking her hand, "Nice to meet you."

Misty turned to Serena who was still staring at an unaware Ash,

"And you are?" She asked, extending her hand a second time.

"Oh! Um, I'm Serena," Serena said, her face turning red and grabbing her hand nervously.

"Cool, we ready to go?"

Clemont nodded and the four of them continued walking with Infernape as their guide. Misty and Serena walked in front, they weren't speaking but he could see Serena sneaking glances at the Elite Four member, probably curious about Ash's friend.

Ash leaned closer to Clemont and whispered,

"Do you know what's going on?"

Clemont sighed, that was typical of Ash,

"I do, but it's too complicated to explain. Maybe you should wait until we get there."

"Seriously!? That's what Misty said."

Clemont chuckled lightly,

"Well she's right."

"I hate when she's right." He huffed.

"How do you know her?"

"Did I never mention her to you guys?" Ash laughed, "She was the first person I met on my travels, we traveled together when I was ten. I can't believe I didn't tell you about her, she's one of my best friends."

"Oh," He said quietly, slightly jealous. Not of the friendship itself, but he wished that he'd known Ash when he was younger. Sure they were the best of friends now, but Clemont wished he could have known him longer.

"Yeah, I hope you guys will be good friends."

"AH!" Misty said suddenly, causing Serena to flinch in surprise, "I think I know where we are now!"

"You mean we were lost!?" Ash demanded, "You gave me an earful about my direction skills but you've had us lost this whole time!"

Misty spun around with a displeased look on her face and smacked Ash's shoulder,

"I'm sorry, but who got us lost in between every damn town in Kanto? Not me, that's for sure. Yeah, so shut up."

Ash cackled and shoved her slightly with his shoulder,

"You still got us lost."

"No more lost that you would have," Misty sniffed.

Clemont couldn't help but smile at their interaction; he had to admit it was rather charming. He noticed Serena's expression however, it was one of uncertainty.

Just as Misty had Ash in a headlock a new voice broke through their protests.

"If you two are quite finished, can you please shut up and listen."

Ash whipped his head around and his eyes widened when he saw who it was,

"Gary?!"

* * *

Cilan felt disgusting. His was dirty, messy, and sweaty. Not something that he would consider acceptable. Granted, everyone else wasn't looking particularly beautiful either. Iris's hair was a mess and Dawn had fallen a while back and her clothes were dirty as anything, she'd fallen over multiple times, Paul… well he just wasn't the 'beauty' type as far as Cilan could tell.

How could a cave be cold but sweltering at the same time? He didn't know, that's for sure.

He'd never been to Victory Road before nor had he desired to, yet here he was trekking through the place searching for whatever it was Paul was looking for. He hadn't said what it was; he hadn't said anything at all actually, which only made Iris more irritable and Dawn more uncomfortable.

Cilan didn't know what to think of the soon to be Sinnoh Champion. On one hand, yeah he seemed level headed, but on the other he was not a people person and it was difficult to get a read on him. And that was coming from an S-Class Connoisseur, it was his job to read people and Pokemon.

The silence was extremely awkward for everyone except probably Paul. Iris kept sending him nasty looks from behind his back and Dawn just seemed like she'd rather be anywhere else but here. From what he could tell, Dawn knew Paul and Paul knew Dawn, but there was something in Dawn's demeanor towards the man that Cilan couldn't place. She seemed... very apprehensive about being around him. He knew she'd been trainer under Reggie Dunham for the past year or so, and he supposed Paul and Dawn had encountered one another a few times due to this. Cilan was curious about what exactly had gone on to make Dawn so... not like Dawn.

"Hello?" A voice called out from behind them, "Who's there?"

Paul stopped and stiffened, everyone else followed in suit. Cilan's stomach dropped, Cilan thought he recognized the voice, but turned around to be sure.

May stood behind them, next to someone Cilan had never met, but had seen many times on television. Drew Hayden. He seemed to be carrying someone on his back. Squinting his eyes carefully he saw who it was,

"Oh Mew," Cilan breathed, a mix of fear and relief filling his chest, "It's Bonnie."

Dawn and Iris gasped and rushed to their sides, him following close behind. Paul didn't move but turned to see who was there.

"Is she OK?" Iris asked Drew as she inspected the blonde girl. She seemed to be breathing, but she definitely wasn't in good shape, Cilan could see her left leg was heavily injured.

"She's got a broken ankle but she's alright. She was in shock a while ago but she's sleeping now." Drew replied in a tired voice.

"Do you want me to carry her?" Cilan offered, noticing this and understand how exhausted Drew seemed to be.

The green haired coordinator nodded and gently passed Bonnie onto Cilan's back. He made sure she was secure then let go, Cilan felt the young girl's soft breathing on his shoulder. At least she seemed peaceful.

"Thanks…" Drew paused to search for his name.

"Cilan."

"Thanks Cilan, appreciate it."

He nodded in response.

"Poor thing," Dawn fretted, "I hope we can get her help soon."

May nodded sadly,

"I feel awful that I let that happen to her."

"It's not your fault," Dawn assured her friend, "You two saved her, that's what matters."

Cilan noticed May's doubtful expression before she covered it up with a smile.

"I'm sure she'll be OK!"

"That's the spirit!" Dawn grinned, wrapping her arm around the brunette.

Cilan didn't know May, not apart from meeting her today, but he could tell by the look in her blue eyes that she was lying. At least to Dawn, maybe herself. It was sad, he saw it everyday, seeming happy people, who, underneath all the sunshine and laughter, were in pain. However, it was not his place to speak to her about it. He made mental note to keep an eye on her as long as she was around them.

"Who are you three? What do you want?" A harsh voice spoke up.

Cilan controlled a surprised jump; he hadn't realized that Paul had approached them from behind. He didn't look pleased, or at least Cilan didn't think so, again, hard to read.

May turned to Drew and he shrugged, so she stepped up looking a little nervous and stated shakily,

"I'm here on League business."

Paul gave her a dead stare prompting the girl to continue.

"I'm May Maple; I'm supposed to replace Drake in the Hoenn Elite Four in April."

The taller man gave her an unimpressed look and commented,

"Wallace's standards have lowered."

Cilan winced as he saw Dawn's eyes flash and May's gaze fall,

"Excuse you, but you can just keep your useless opinions to yourself," Dawn snapped walking up to Paul confidently and meeting his glare, "What do you know about her? I suggest you shut up before I pummel your ass all the way to hell."

"And I'll help," Iris threatened stepping in front of May to defend her. He hoped for Paul's sake he backed off, he had no doubt in his mind that Iris _could_ beat the future Champion senseless, he'd seen it before.

Paul raised his eyebrow but didn't respond.

"Yeah, that's what I thought." Dawn sniffed.

Where was the apprehensive and awkward Dawn? Gone out the window that's for sure. Cilan did admire her quickness to jump to her friends defense.

"Dawn… it's fine," May said quietly, trying to diffuse the situation.

"No, it isn't," Drew said, agreeing with the blue haired girl, "Shut the hell up, man."

That little exchange had told Cilan a lot of the mystery that was Paul, he was blunt, rude, and Cilan didn't think he liked him much. It also enforced his high opinion of Dawn and Iris, and made him like Drew a little more.

"Whatever," Paul said curtly, "Are these two on League businesses as well or did you just decide to bring them along."

May seemed to tap into her supply of self defense as she countered him,

"I'm sorry, but you're kind of one to talk. Decide to bring them along?" She said pointing at Cilan, Iris, and Dawn, "Please let's just get where we need to, I would rather not argue over this."

Paul didn't answer and instead turned and continued walking.

Iris crossed her arms and gave Cilan a frustrated sigh, but followed him. He had to admit, he agreed with her, that guy's attitude was leaving a bad taste in Cilan's mouth.

As they continued walking May approached Cilan and asked quietly after Bonnie,

"Is she doing OK?"

"Still sleeping," He replied, "Are you doing alright?"

She smiled and nodded as she walked ahead of him,

"Gotta be, right?"

Cilan didn't know what exactly she meant by that but suspected it would be better for him not to press the issue further. He could tell by the look in her tired blue eyes that it wasn't something that was at all his business.

Eventually they turned a corner and Paul stopped.

"We're here." May said, voice filled with relief and excitement.

Cilan set his gaze ahead and saw a slew of familiar faces.

Ash, Serena, and Clemont stood together along with two others he'd never personally seen, but recognized as Misty Waterflower and Gary Oak.

Clemont was the first to see them, he saw Bonnie on Cilan's back and rushed to her.

"Bonnie!" He cried, Cilan put his lip to his index finger,

"She's asleep, she's injured but if we can get her medical attention she'll be fine."

The blonde pulled off his glasses and wiped his teary eyes,

"She's OK, oh Mew, she's OK," He sobbed, "I was so scared."

Ash's eyes lit up when he saw them and Serena came up behind him and hugged Clemont from behind,

"You were right," She murmured, "Bonnie is safe. Thank you Cilan, thanks so much."

"Don't thank me, thank those two," He answered, gesturing towards May and Drew, "They carried her all the way here."

Cilan watched as the two people closest to Bonnie expressed their gratitude towards her rescuers. May was blushing furiously, probably shocked to see Serena in person, but she managed to keep those excitements to herself as she explained what had happened to Clemont's sister.

Paul appeared to be impatient and stalked over to where Gary and Misty were and gave them a questioning stare. Gary seemed to understand his meaning and announced to the group that they were leaving.

"There are more of you than I thought there would be, I'll leave it up to you guys to explain, but we're getting out of here."

He let a Alakazam out of a Pokéball and said,

"It will be teleporting you to our base," He explained, "You'll all be dealt with there so no questions now, let's just leave already."

Cilan inhaled deeply, he had no idea what exactly was going on but anything was better than this cave so he complied with Gary's orders. One moment he was in Victory Road and the next he was somewhere entirely different.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let me know about spelling or grammar. I try but I still suck ass at that.


	5. Contact

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Out pasts shape us.

**June 14** **th** **2002**

**Professor Oak's Lab**

**11:12pm**

Samuel Oak was just about ready to turn in after a long day of research and work. His grandson Gary had been settled in bed for a few hours now and all the Pokémon were set for the night. He chuckled to himself at his creeping old age. How quickly it had caught up with him, he'd be sixty next year. Little Delia down the street was almost twenty five. His own grandson had started school this year. Everything went by so quickly.

Now here he was, going to bed before midnight and mentally complaining about a crook in his back. It was funny in a way; at least he could say that he was wiser from his life experience. He did not miss the doubt and condescension that came from others back when he was a young researcher.

Smiling as he flicked off the last switch in the house, leaving everything dark, but not quite so dark that he couldn't see.

It was very like him to reminisce. Sometimes there was benefit to it, but a lot of the time it almost made him sad. But not tonight, he'd be grateful tonight.

Just as he was about to head up the stairs he heard a small, but rambunctious knock at his door. Raising his eyebrows he approached his door and looked through the peephole. Samuel was slightly surprised when he didn't see anyone.

Opening the door he looked down and saw the Ketchum boy, Ash.

He was smaller than his own grandson, he was in a Squirtle patterned pajamas and was holding a plushie tightly.

"Ash? What are you doing awake at this hour? Didn't your mother tuck you into bed?" Delia was usually so vigilent about bed times but he wouldn't put it past the rambunctious boy to flat out ignore what his mother said.

"Yeah…" The boy mumbled, squirming as he spoke as if he was embarrassed, very odd for the usual bubbly boy.

"Then why are you at my door without your shoes on?"

"I wanted to do something, I think it's a bad thing so I wanted to ask you."

When Samuel saw the uncertainty and nervousness in Ash's eyes he knew he couldn't send him off back home without hearing him out. He'd apologize to Delia the next day.

"Well why don't you come in, have a glass of juice?"

* * *

"So what's all this about?" Samuel asked when he had settled at the kitchen table with Ash and gotten him a glass of orange juice.

"I want to go on a journey!"

"Well you have to wait until the April of your tenth year just like everyone else," He replied matter of factly, he knew first hand how eager children were about their journeys. His own grandson was already pestering him about when he could go.

"But I want to find my Daddy!" Ash protested.

Samuel stopped, taken aback, and swallowed slowly,

"Go on," He encouraged.

The raven haired little boy continued to say,

"Mummy says Daddy's on a journey. I want to meet my daddy. Why does everyone else get a daddy except for me? Leafy and Red get Inigo for a dad and Gary gets you! All the other kids have a dad, why don't I?"

"Ash… you should remember… Leaf and Red, they don't have a mum. Gary doesn't have any parents, just an old grandpa like me."

"But it's different!" Ash insisted.

"It isn't."

"Yes it is!" Ash yelled, eyes growing wet from frustration and distress, "Leafy and Red's mum is dead! So are Gary's mum and dad! Mine just doesn't want to see me and mum!"

That was a harsh jab to Samuel's heart when he heard that. Unsure how to continue he took a deep breath, painful memories filled his thoughts causing him to shut his eyes and pinch the bridge of his nose.

"Professor Oak? Did I say something bad?" Ash asked nervously.

Shoving back his thoughts he addressed the young boy in front of him,

"You didn't mean to Ash, but you need to speak respectfully of those who have passed. If Leaf or Red were here, would you talk about their mum like that? Or if Gary was here would you say his parents being dead is easier than your own situation?"

"No…"

"Think of it this way, if something happened to you, would your mum be upset?"

"Yes," Ash replied without hesitation.

"Well Gary's mum was my daughter so you can guess that I was upset when she and Gary's dad died. And Sienna Talbott was my friend, it hurt when she died. Consider that."

"I'm… I'm really sorry," Ash muttered as he shifted in his seat, "I didn't think too smart."

"I wouldn't say that, you did think, your situation _is_ different than your friend's. Your dad is on a journey," Mew, it was hard to lie to his face but it was what Delia wanted so he wouldn't go against it, "So you don't see him often, but does your mum love you?"

"Yes! And I love her too, a whole lot!" Ash answered fervently.

"And you have friends?"

"Yup! Me, Leafy, Red, and Gary were going to go see the Goldeen in the river tomorrow and try and catch one!"

"You won't be able to do that if you run away to look for your father, I know that Gary would miss you a whole lot."

Ash considered this carefully, as if weighing the pros and cons the best his five year old mind could.

"Y'know if you stay in Pallet Town, you can ask me all the things you might want to ask a dad. Basically what I'm trying to say is we'd all miss you if you left," Samuel said softly, it was true, everyone who knew Ash loved him even if he was a lot to handle at times.

"OK…" Ash conceded, "I'll stay, but can bring my juice home with me?"

"Of course," Samuel chuckled, "Just have your mum wash the glass and you can bring it back tomorrow when you and Gary go out to play."

"Thanks!" Ash grinned happily, jumping down from his seat and heading to the front door, he opened it and before leaving he turned to Samuel and said in a determined voice, "I'm going to become a Pokémon Master and make my mummy proud, and then dad will come home!"

Samuel watched with mixed feelings as he watched the small boy run across the yard and down the road back to his house, spilling his juice and clutching his stuffed toy protectively.

The professor didn't know about Ash becoming a Pokémon Master, but he did know that he would make Delia proud no matter what as. As for Ash's father… well it was next to impossible that he was coming home.

**March 11** **th** **2015**

**Unknown Location**

**9:18 pm**

_"Where is Lance?"_ Ariana demanded, slamming her fist against the interrogation table. The pink haired girl who was currently cuffed to the desk, flinched but kept a determined look on her face.

She was loyal, Giovanni would give her that, if Ariana could convince her, she'd make a good member for Team Rocket. Her Miltank was legendary among the city she reigned in. He was confident in Ariana's… unique persuasion abilities. He smirked slightly as he watched the feed coming from the cell, normally he would be there for such an event, but he was slightly occupied with another significant event. One that was more... deserving of his attention.

He turned his head slightly; peering through the glass window down into Team Rocket's Lab, down there Dr. Zager was doing experiments on a specimen Giovanni hadn't seen in a long time.

Down in a test tube was a small pink fetus, floating in the coloured fluids, eyes closed.

His smirk grew as he saw this; everything seemed to be going according to plan. Turns out his prodigy was right, patience was essential and always reaped the rewards of the time spent waiting.

_"Ha!"_ Whitney laughed in response to Ariana's previous demand, _"Ya really think a lowly Gym Leader like me would know where the fucking Champion is?!"_

Giovanni turned back to the screen, intrigued by the conversation occurring. There was a quiet knock on his door, and it creaked open.

"Ah, only you would have the nerve to come into my office without my consent," He commented bitterly when he realized who had come in.

"Because I know you can do nothing about it," The boy said in a voice devoid of any emotion.

Mouthy brat.

"You know that I could."

"You know I could kill you."

"Perhaps," Giovanni chuckled, "But I have the power to kill others."

"That you do Giovanni."

"After so many years you are still so insolent not to refer to me as 'Boss'?"

"It's the very reason why you recruited me."

"Very true."

"So Team Rocket now has Whitney in custody," The boy observed, "Is she talking? I don't recall her being the type to give up information."

"More like shouting, but Ariana is competent."

The two turned to look at the live feed, the Gym Leader was apparently giving Ariana a hard time. So far it seemed as if the pink haired girl was the calm and nonchalant one, very unlike her interrogator.

_"Talk, or my Arbok with squeeze it out of you," The older redheaded woman threatened._

_"So angry… tsk, tsk, tsk," Whitney sighed, with a light smile on her lips, "Just like that boy back then, you remind me of him, the boy with the silver eyes."_

Giovanni froze, unable to move, unable to comprehend what this stupid bitch was saying. How this piece of human scum knew about…

_"What?!"_

Apparently Ariana was just as surprised. He could see the rage in her eyes, it was the same rage that was boiling in his own stomach.

_"Did you have a son? Think met him once… maybe… real piece of work, definitely a kid on the run, I know the type, was the type before I became a Leader."_

_"Silence!"_

_"When was the last time you saw him? When I saw him he must have been like, ten or something. Did you not see him grow up? That's too bad; my parents were pieces of shit too. 'Least I turned out alright, hope he did too despite everything. What did he call himself again... it definitely was a fake name. Mind telling me what his real name was?"  
_

The moment Whitney finished her sentence Ariana's fist had connected with her face.

Giovanni had heard and seen enough he shut it off quickly.

"What's wrong Boss?" The boy asked disinterestedly.

"Nothing," Giovanni growled, clenching his fists, "Get me Proton."

"Are you sure?" He replied in a bored voice, "Proton is currently on his way to board a plane to Sinnoh, just as _you_ ordered."

"Then get me Petral."

"If I'm not mistaken he is currently in Kanto, last I heard he has the Leaders Janine and Erika in custody and is currently headed to Cerulean and Pewter."

"Archer?"

"I was under the understanding that he was assisting us with the Prime Minister… road block."

"Well get a hold of all of them and tell them that locating Firmino is high priority!"

"Higher than the mission?"

Giovanni paused, but none the less responded,

"No," He decided, "Not higher, but still priority. It's time that that boy was caught and put away. He's been gone from Team Rocket for too long."

"That he has sir, I will let them know."

**March 12th, 2015**

**Fuchsia City**

**10:02pm**

Leaf really picked the perfect time to come to Fuchsia City and the perfect time. Just as she got there she found out that the city's Leader had already been captured, the gang's admin was gone and the whole damn city was taken over.

Nothing seemed to be going her way today, and now she was being chased by a bunch of psychos and their trainers. Fun.

"Ampharos, use Thunder Shock!" Leaf called out as she grabbed a loose pipe from the streets a swung it, knocking out the thug that was attacking her from behind. He cried out, and fell to the ground unconscious.

The Light Pokémon let out a cry and released an electrical charge from its body, completely immobilizing the swarm of Zubat and Gobat that was currently pursuing them, as well as their trainers.

Once they had a moment in the clear, Leaf and her Electric Type bolted. Trying to find an area of the city not filled with grunts and people who would like her dead, y'know reasonable requests. She didn't think she was asking for much, not really.

She found herself in an alley between two large buildings, she could hear approaching voices from both exits and frowned, what an inconvenience. It wasn't like she wouldn't be able to do anything about, or fight it. Fact was, she could, easily in fact, but she didn't want to. The day had been downright awful and Leaf kind of just wanted to be cut a little slack.

Deciding this, Leaf the proceeded to open the lid to a large dumpster, thank Arceus it was clean and empty, and hopped in. Not her highest point in life, but at this point she didn't have any shits left to give.

As Leaf brought her knees to her chin she let out a long sigh. She'd been at this for so long. So long on her own, just her and her Pokémon, no stops, no breaks, just one goal in mind. She was tired. Leaf could admit it, she was tired. Not physically, just mentally. She was too young for this. In four days she'd be eighteen years old and eighteen year olds aren't supposed to have the emotional exhaustion of an old woman.

Taking shallow breaths she heard the groups of grunts pass through the alley way, Ampharos had a determined look on its face as if ready to attack if anyone so much as cracked the lid open.

Exhaling when she realized she was OK for now she relaxed her muscles slightly.

"This is not like me…" She whispered quietly, to no one in particular, "I'm strong… I don't back down… ever."

Ampharos nuzzled up next to her and she smiled sadly, stroking its head absentmindedly. Her Pokémon was trying to comfort her but that only made her feel worse, it was always her caring for them, not the other way around. It was her job to make sure her team was safe and healthy, not vice versa. She didn't need help. It had to be that way; everyone she had ever depended on had either let her down or left her. That was human nature.

"So… what should I do?" She asked quietly, again to no one, but her Pokémon responded with a nudge at her trench coat pocket.

Leaf raised her eyebrow questioningly as Ampharos lightly reached into her pocket and pulled out her ID.

"What are you getting at?" Leaf asked, slightly confused as she watched her Pokémon rummage through her ID. It pulled out a photo, an old one, one she forgot was still stashed deep in the pockets of her wallet.

Leaf's stomach knotted when she saw the photo. In it was a group of four children, all smiling brightly, eyes glimmering. The top right side of the photo was folded over one of the boy's face. It was obviously intentional, she'd had it folded for years now, refusing to look at the one child in the picture.

Gary Oak, of course, was that child. That was what happened when you grew up with Gary; you ended up wanting to erase him from all of your pictures. He was that much of a shithead.

Seeing him three days ago had really thrown her off. Leaf had sort of had the understanding that after their falling out they would never speak or see each other again. That had been perfectly OK with her but he had to go and interrupt her at the Viridian City Pub and start questioning and psychoanalyzing all her motivations and decisions. He'd shocked her with his knowledge on... certain aspects of her past and just had to jab in as many knives into her side as he could. Then he gave her his number like some cheap man whore.

"I know you want me to call him," Leaf growled, Ampharos nodded in response.

She bit her lip in deep thought. It would be humiliating to call him… but she had to admit… he may have had a point when he said that he had his own agenda and it just might align with hers.

"Fine," She sighed, so Leaf reached into her coat pocket and pulled out the napkin he'd given her, and messily scribbled his number on,

And she punched it in.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Very quick in between chapter. Next chapter is not this short, it's like 10 000 words and should be out in the next little bit so look forward to that.
> 
> Giovanni is introduced, Whitney has a bit of a mouth on her too :)
> 
> Leaf is at a pretty vulnerable place in this chapter, this was mostly because she's not going to be a very likable character for a while. She's quite hard mostly so I wanted to show a bit of a weaker and softer side of her before she's back to her normal self. Just know that she's not always rude and bossy as she will be in future.
> 
> For future reference it's probably important for you guys to check the dates I put throughout the chapters as there are flashbacks and not everything is completely linear. For example the next chapter will take place March 12th, same day as the last scene, but earlier in the day. Basically it clears up a lot of confusion since there are going to be a lot of scenes that don't take place in the present.
> 
> Thanks to everyone who've supported this story! Means a lot to me :)))


	6. Pawns

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things we can't explain...

**March 12** **th** **, 2015**

**Mt. Spirit, League Hideout**

**6:12am**

Bonnie was awake, but she didn't want to open her eyes, they felt heavy and tired and she didn't want to be living to the world right now. There was a throbbing pain in her ankle and just her general leg area that was almost unbearable and opening her eyes would mean having to face whatever that was.

Plus the bed she was in was criminally comfortable; if she let anyone know she was awake she might have to get up. That was... not ideal, nope, not fun.

"Hello?" A voice said from across the room, "I know you're awake, I have to treat you quickly and then I promise you can go back to sleep. You're leg needs to be wrapped again."

Groaning Bonnie tried to turn away from the nagging sound but whimpered when pain shot through her leg.

"Come on, we all have jobs to do. Let me do mine," The voice groaned, now closer, probably next to the bed now.

Surrendering she opened her eyes and to her surprise, it wasn't what she was expecting.

"You're a kid!" She accused pointing at the forest green haired boy sitting next to her bed who was wearing a lab coat and holding a clipboard.

He gave her an exasperated look and said in an obnoxiously know-it-all voice,

"So are you, and I'm older than you for your information."

"Well so is my brother but that doesn't make him a doctor! How old _are_ you?"

"Not that it should matter, but I'm fifteen this year. I am also not a doctor, but I was entrusted to heal your leg with the help of my Gallade," The boy replied as said Pokémon was let out of its Pokéball.

"I don't trust you," She muttered.

"That's fine," He stated pushing up his glasses in the most obnoxious way, "Just stay still a minute and I'll be out of your hair."

Still groggy Bonnie complied as the boy carefully removed the bandages from her leg. She grimaced when she saw it, the nasty bruises and the discolouration. Was her ankle crooked? What had happened that night? How long had she been asleep?

Then it came back.

Suddenly she had a massive headache; last thing she remembered was a green haired guy holding her as they flew on his Flygon and then everything went black. Where was he? And that girl... May, did she get out OK?

"Gallade, Heal Pulse." The boy said quietly. The blade Pokémon obeyed and Bonnie could feel her ankle fixing itself and going back into place. It hurt a lot, but she knew that it would hurt more if she didn't sit through and bare it. Once it was over there was an overwhelming sense of peace that flowed through her leg.

"There you go," The boy said, taking a pen from his lab coat pocket and writing something down on his clipboard, "It will be sore for the foreseeable future, but it's no longer broken and you'll be able to walk. The bruising should fade in time, but other than that you're in good shape. Luckily it wasn't so bad and a simple Heal Pulse could heal it."

"Thanks," She mumbled, "Where are we exactly?"

"I'll let someone will higher authority explain that to you."

"Can you tell me if the people I was with are safe?"

"May and Drew are fine, they bought you here."

Thank Arceus, she would have felt awful if they had gotten hurt trying to help her.

"At least tell me who you are, or is that too classified for someone as lowly as me."

The boy gave her an amused look but replied,

"I'm Maxwell Maple, or Max if you prefer, aspiring Pokémon Professor, apprentice to Professor Birch, and Leader of Petalburg Gym."

Bonnie grumbled, still grouchy from her nap,

"No need to brag there buddy."

He chuckled slightly,

"Sorry, the whole Gym Leader thing is a new thing for me so I'm kind of proud of it."

"Oh… well I'm Bonnie—

"Delfosse, I am well aware. Ash, Serena and your brother are itching to see you, should I send them in?"

Bonnie gave it some serious thought, which took the great amount of time of one second to say,

"No, I don't want them fussing."

"Younger sibling complex," Max said as though he related, "Got it."

"Are you too?"

"Yup, the girl who brought you here, May, she's my older sister. Whenever I'm gone from her sight a few minutes she's ready to call a search party."

"Hah… don't I know it. Do you think I could sleep some more?"

"Alright then, buzz if you need anything."

"Thank you Max, and thank May for me too. She saved my life. Drew as well, he was so nice."

The boy snorted as if that was funny but nodded as he got up and headed for the door, Bonnie was asleep before she could see him go.

* * *

Ash was fidgeting; he'd been sitting waiting in the most boring looking grey room he'd ever seen. He was pretty sure he'd been there for hours but everyone else had assured him it hadn't even been an hour yet. He never had been the most patient person. Pikachu had fallen asleep from boredom and was next to him breathing lightly.

He was sitting in a room with Bonnie, Iris, Cilan, Serena, Dawn, and Drew waiting for some sort of explanation as to what was going on exactly. Why Misty, May, Paul, Gary, and Clemont weren't here, he had not the slightest idea. No one had told him anything since they'd arrived at this weird place and even after he'd slept fitfully not a soul had shed any light on the situation. Not knowing things was probably one of his biggest pet peeves…

They had been here at least thirty six hours, it was hard to tell when there weren't any clocks or windows to track the time with, but Cilan had been keeping count diligently and was fairly sure it hadn't been more than two days since Gary had teleported them here.

None of the people in the room had said much other than a greeting and short answers to whatever questions Ash asked. Everyone seemed to be in a foul mood and Ash was a little scared to say much. Just looking at everyone's expressions… needless to say Ash was not going to pry. He turned and noticed Bonnie seemed approachable. He could always count on her for that.

"Hey Bonnie?"

"Yeah?"

"How's your leg doing?"

"A little sore but this fore eyed kid pretending to be a doctor had his Pokémon fix it up a bit for me. He said he was May's sister. You know May right?"

"Wait, Max?"

"That's what he said," Bonnie confirmed, "Weird kid if you ask me."

This piqued Drew's interest, the green haired boy lifted his head for the first time since they'd arrived.

"OK, what's Max doing here?" Ash asked.

"How should I know him? I've never met him before this morning," Bonnie pointed out.

"This is so weird."

Just as he spoke the door to the room was opened and in walked a slew of people.

Misty, Brock, May, Paul, Gary, Clemont, and some smartly dressed men and women in suits with thick sunglasses and dark hats.

Everyone in the room stood up when they saw who had come in. Ash had to force himself not to rush over to Brock to greet him, sure he'd seen him just a while back but he still wanted to say hello to his old friend. He settled for meeting his friend's eyes and giving him a smile, which was returned in full.

Then in walked Lance, Ash hadn't spoken to him since their encounter with Team Aqua and Magma all those years ago. He definitely had aged and his face seemed… harsher. Ash couldn't put his finger on it but there was something very different about the Champion.

"Sit, please." Lance said shortly, "I have a lot to go over with you kids."

They complied and sat down in unanimous and what would be comical fashion if the situation hadn't been so stale.

"You all, except for one, were brought here under the false actions of some of the people in this room. I'm sure you can figure out whom for yourself. Bottom line is, if you aren't useful to our cause you have to go. So I'm going to have to make sure you can be of use to us before we tell you anything."

Wow that was blunt. May and Clemont looked embarrassed, Paul's eyes twitched. He supposed it was those three that brought in unauthorized… guests? Ash wasn't sure.

"First, Cilan Auclair."

The green haired man raised his hand.

"That is me."

"You are a one of the three Gym Leaders of Striaton Gym correct."

"That's right."

"It says in my files that you are the child of Lois and David Auclair, S-Class Connoisseurs. You yourself are the same rank. I take it you've graduated from the Association with high honours?"

"Yes sir."

"Then I believe your knowledge on human and Pokémon psyche will prove helpful to our cause, as well as your battling skills." He then turned to and addressed another person, "Now Iris Maharaj you are also a Unova Gym Leader, who specializes in Dragon Types. Champion Adler has personally vouched for your competence as well as Drayden whom I understand brought you up."

Iris blushed, probably from the praise from her two mentors, and nodded vigorously.

"Good, now Dawn Berlitz."

Ash didn't like how he was just going off a list of people it was kind of... dehumanizing almost.

"Present," The blue haired girl smiled, it was not returned.

"You are a coordinator correct?"

"Yes sir."

"You have succeeded considerably?"

"I was the Top Coordinator of Unova in 2013."

Paul seemed slightly surprised by this, Ash had no idea why. From what he knew Dawn and Paul weren't even acquaintances, in fact he would be surprised if Paul even remembered Dawn from back when they were kids.

Lance scanned the room again,

"Serena Collette?" He asked, gesturing towards the girl, "You are a performer I understand, any other experience in battling or the like?"

Serena shook her head,

"Nothing competitive."

Lance gave her a long, dead look then turned Bonnie, who was sitting next to her,

"Bonnie Delfosse. You are Leader Clemont's younger sister. Do you have a field of Pokémon Practice to speak of?"

"I've dabbled in Coordinating and Performing, I earned about six Kalos badges a few years back but I haven't decided what I want to do yet." She said in an uncharacteristically quiet voice.

Lance disregarded her statement then turned to Drew,

"Drew Hayden, you are also a Coordinator?"

"Two time Top Coordinator." Drew confirmed with a smirk, there was a scoff, Ash couldn't be sure but he was pretty sure it came from May. It would make a lot of sense, Ash still remembered the intensity of their rivalry and the lengths both went to tease the other.

"Alright. Now we come to the meat of the group, Ash Ketchum, you recently won the Indigo Plateau Conference, and worked as a Frontier Brain for three years. Normally that might be enough for the League to specifically request you but due to the testimonies of many of the people you see here as well as others, Misty Waterflower was ordered to bring you here when the time came. I plan to see whether or not you're worth as much as others say."

"Um… OK…" Ash said uncertainly, how the hell was he supposed to respond to a statement like that?

"I do recall meeting you around multiple times while I was working undercover, you were helpful but I need more than that out of you. You know everyone in the room correct?"

"Not them," He replied as he pointed to the secret agent looking duo who stood at the door.

"Obviously. I'll need testimonies from all of the people in the room. Starting with you Mr. Dunham."

Who was that?

Paul stood forward. Ash hadn't known Paul's last name so that sort of threw him off. Paul did not look at Ash at all which was typical of the trainer but still annoyed Ash slightly. He instead addressed Lance in the gravelly and impassive voice Ash had always known,

"Ash Ketchum and I were what one would consider rivals back in when I first competed in the Sinnoh League, despite our disagreements and our differing styles I can say that he is a respectable and capable trainer. That year he defeated me in the Silver Conference as well as defeated a legendary Pokémon in the semi-finals. It is understandable he was offered up as a candidate. I have not had contact with him since."

"Misty?" Lance asked.

Ash silently prayed that the redhead would make him look or sound awesome.

"I might be slightly biased in my opinion of Ash, we traveled together during his first year as a trainer, but during that time I noticed something odd about him. I'm sure Brock can attest to the uncanny amount of things Ash has experienced on his travels and his endless involvement in the preventing of Illegal Pokémon Gangs. Name a group and he's stopped their plans. Even you Lance met him while investigating Team Rocket and he, Brock, and I were a major part in your mission's success. Plain and simple, Ash is prone to fall into trouble but he has never failed to extinguish that trouble."

"Can you confirm this Mr. Harrison?"

Brock gave Lance a serious stare, seriousness didn't suit Brock.

"I can, I was with Ash his first three years of travelling and it was quiet unbelievable the amount of highly sensitive situations he found himself in. Though I cannot confirm this theory I believe that Ash is somewhat of a magnet to Legendary Pokémon. They seem attracted to him and he often forms close bonds with these Pokémon. I'm sure that he's encountered many more since I ceased my journey with him."

"I can confirm that," Clemont spoke up.

"So can I," Iris offered, Cilan nodding in agreement.

"What Pokémon have you encountered Ash?" Lance asked.

"Um… It's kinda hard to keep track." He laughed nervously, scratching the back of his head.

Misty spoke up, always the more reliable one of the two,

"When I was with him we saw Mewtwo and saved him from Team Rocket. We were involved in that situation in the Orange Islands back in 2007 and met Articuno, Zapdos, Moltras. Ash became rather close with the Lugia on site as well. We've seen Celebi, Entee, Suicune, Latias, and Latios. Ash also said he saw a Ho Oh on the first day of his journey. That's only the first year, and I'm sure I've left some out."

"Continue,"

May spoke up this time,

"I journeyed with him the next year and we were in close and dangerous situations with a good many of Legendries. Off the top of my head I could name Manaphy, Kyogre, Groudon, Deoxyes, Raquaza, Jirachi, Mew, and the three Legendary Golems."

"When I was with him he and I were in similar situations, we saved the three Lake Guardians from Team Galactic. We encountered Dialga, Palkia, Gratina, the Lunar Duo, Heatran, Shaymin, Regigigas." Dawn added, and then remembered one more, "Oh and Arceus."

"Mew in heaven," Drew said rubbing his forehead, "What the hell kind of shit do you do on your journeys?"

"Anyone else care to add?" Lance asked.

Cilan spoke up this time,

"Iris and I saw Victini, the Swords of Justice, the Tao Trio and the Forces of Nature, Mewtwo, and Genesect."

"Don't forget Meloetta, we were particularly close to it. The Pokémon followed us around a long time. Ash gained its trust." Iris piped up.

"Anyone else?"

"Ash befriended a Diancie, and through it we all saw Xerneas and Yveltal. We also met Hoopa, who brought in a slew of other legendries around, I'm sure you heard of that occurrence." Serena spoke up.

"Are there any you _haven't_ seen?" Drew asked disbelievingly, obviously daunted.

"A few…" Ash trailed off.

"That's Ashy Boy," Gary smirked, "Always causing trouble."

"Let's not forget the Prophecies," Misty added, giving Ash a pressing look.

"Oh, well there were these weird Prophecies that I heard a few times but I don't think they mean anything." Ash said, hoping to minimize the situation, he honestly hated talking about that kind of thing.

"Well my Elite Four Member seems to think they do so Misty, please elaborate," Lance requested.

"In the Shamouti Islands there was an ancient prophecy the townspeople had. I couldn't recite it word for word but I can tell you the important bits. There was a line, 'The earth shall turn to Ash'. At first I thought it was literal ash, but the prophecy spoke of the 'Chosen One' and what they'd do. After the events with the Legendary Birds and Lugia Ash kind of fit that description. The people of the island dubbed him the Chosen One, you could find more information on the event but that's sort of the jist of it. There was another one involving the Towers of Ecruteak but I am less certain on that subject. I'm not trying to say he's some sort of Chosen One, or savior, but it enforces Ash's strange connections."

"I've heard enough," Lance sighed, probably from stress, when it was said out loud Ash's life did sound kind of stressful. He never really thought about it, but what he had experienced was far from normal to the average person, but encountering Legendries and fighting dangerous battles was sort of a normal to Ash.

"Ash Ketchum, you have proved adequate and I'd be happy to have you work with us. Do you agree?"

"On one condition."

"And what condition is that?"

"Did everyone in this room prove adequate to you?"

Lance hesitated before admitting,

"No."

"Well they are and if you can't see that you're an idiot. I'll stick around if these guys can too."

"Ash…" Misty whispered warningly, she had a point; he'd just called the Champion an idiot to his face.

"Fine," Lance said curtly before walking out of the room, "I'll have everyone know what information you're required to get but it's up to each of you to get it. Misty, I need to see you in my office. You make sure to explain to them the rules about this place."

"Yes sir," She said following him out. The door closed on the group and Ash was left with a million questions, but now was able to get some answers.

"So who wants to explain this to us?" Bonnie asked, gesturing towards the ones who had come in with Lance and obviously knew what was happening.

Gary spoke up,

"Follow me and I can show you," he turned to Brock and Clemont, "Don't let me keep you if you need to be somewhere else."

"Thanks," Clemont said with a smile, "Brock and I are needed in the Medical Wing."

"Alright then, here we go." Gary said with false excitement.

* * *

"Alright I think I'm just going to let the purloin out of the bag," Gary said as he typed some code into one of the many computers in the room.

Drew noticed Cilan shudder at the mention of the Pokémon, weirdo.

"The man that talked to you back there, Lance, he's no longer the Champion of Johto and Kanto."

This caused a sudden murmur of disbelief, panic, or whatever the hell it was. Drew chose not to comment and kept an unaffected face. All he wanted was to know what was going on and that wasn't going to happen if he shouted or freaked out over every twist and turn in the story.

"Guys, shut up," Gary groaned, "I'm trying to explain why; May or Paul would you care to explain a bit these idiots are giving me a headache."

Paul looked as though he was agreeing with him. May gave Gary an unsure look as if she was scared to address the whole group which was definitely odd for the girl Drew knew back when he was younger; Paul rolled his eyes and began explaining instead.

"You all are aware of the Pokémon G-Men correct?"

Most people nodded, but Drew noticed a few seemed unsure.

"They are a group of highly trained individuals who work under the Champions as peacekeepers and agents; they look out for Pokémon cruelty and do undercover missions for the government. When a trainer becomes Champion whether it be through defeating the former or being appointed, they are automatically in control of the entire region's branch of G-Men."

"What do they have to do with this?" Iris asked.

Gary spoke up,

"Basically Lance in so longer the Champion and the G-Men are in someone else's power now." This statement caused uproar among the group but apparently Gary was having none of that as he continued speaking, "I know that each region has a prime minister or leader separate from the Champion, with the exception of Adler who handles both aspects in Unova. Despite this we have reason to believe that position is compromised in Johto and Kanto as well."

He brought up a document and scrolled through what seemed like someone's file, but Drew didn't know whose and he hadn't seen a photo yet.

"I'm sure some of you remember the Indigo Plateau Conference that took place eight years ago, it was the first year Ash and I were trainers. The winner of that League Conference, he's our man. The new Champion."

Drew snuck a glance at Ash who appeared to be attempting to piece together what was going on.

"If you need a reminder Ashy Boy, that kid was Red. Red Talbott. It was a remarkable win, no one had ever heard of a ten year old coming in first place in any Conference. Due to his skill Lance offered him a position as a G-Men agent."

"This is all well and good," Bonnie yawned, "But why does this matter?"

"Because when Red was extended the offer he took it on the condition that if he defeated the Elite Four and worked as an agent he would be permitted to challenge Lance at any time and be given the Championship Title should he be victorious. Lance, of course agreed, he believed the kid was promising and would make a valuable agent. And he was."

"What do you mean 'was'?" asked Serena, "Did something happen to him?"

May nodded and cut in,

"When he was fourteen there was an incident, not much is known about it, and Red became a Team Rocket member. No one is sure of his reasons but he abandoned Lance to work for Team Rocket."

Gary added,

"And he's been seen again. The night before your battle against Calem, Red resurfaced and challenged Lance to a battle. As the agreement they made was legally binding Lance couldn't refuse Red's challenge. He was defeated and a Team Rocket member is now Champion of two Regions and also why we believe that Prime Minister Lorelei Ackermann is in danger of being overthrown and replaced by the Leader of Team Rocket."

"So that was who was attacking us?" Dawn asked, "Team Rocket?"

Gary nodded,

"So that's why we're here. The Champions gathered a group of specialists who might be helpful in taking back the region as well as protect the people here. Not that we're taken over or anything, we're still feeling things out and all the other regions of Ethum are prepared to assist Lance to do whatever it takes to protect Kanto and Johto. That's sort of everything in a nutshell; you'll be briefed in more detail later I'm sure, for now you can head back to your rooms before you're given your assignments. Please don't meddle with anything around here or I'll lose my ass."

Drew observed the room, everyone seemed stunned, confused, and worried, Ash in particular, though Drew couldn't say why. They were all dispersing into their friend circles and back to their rooms like Gary said.

Only Bonnie and May lingered.

The little blonde girl approached them, limping slightly and flashing them a toothy grin,

"I didn't get a chance to, but thank you so much for saving me and not leaving me behind. You two are officially the most awesome people ever! Seriously, I'm really grateful for what you did. I owe you and you two are officially my friends whether you like it or not."

After saying this she turned her heels and skipped off in another direction down the hall.

He chuckled slightly, she was strange, but for some reason he kind of liked her.

"So…" May began quietly, trailing off, "You OK?"

"Huh? Me?" Drew asked, forgetting that she was standing next to him, "Yeah I'm alright. Wondering why I'm here, but alright."

"I can answer some questions you might have," She offered with a bright smile, a painfully familiar one.

"What's your role here?"

"I'm the Hoenn Representative. Since I'm going to be a member of the Elite Four and Wallace trusts me apparently he wanted me to be the one to stay in Kanto to help Lance and the G-Men."

"Wait, I thought the G-Men were under the control of that Red guy now."

"Well yes, but a small group of them were brought with Lance. He couldn't take them all, but he saved who he could I guess."

"What's Oak doing here?"

"He's a researcher, and apparently a good one. He was chosen to come."

"What's he like?"

"He's alright, but… I don't know… I just don't like him so much. I don't think his expectations for me are… high? I guess."

"You? Don't like someone? Things really have changed."

May rolled her eyes and gave his arm a light punch, it stung with familiarity,

"Augh, whatever. Now before you ask why Max is here it's for similar reasons to Gary, he's been researching with Professor Birch for years and he's a skilled trainer. His Pokémon can heal pretty well too."

"What a nerd."

"Hey, that's my brother you jerk."

"Wanna tell me why all these other people are here?"

"Brock is a Pokémon doctor, Misty recommended him. He'll be essential for healing Pokémon in the G-Men. Clemont is a Gym Leader but he's also an inventor of sorts, good with machines and a bunch of stuff I won't even try to understand, he'll be developing inventions and the like with his father for the League."

"What about Ash, what makes him so special that an Elite Four member had to specifically bring him here?"

"You heard what they said in that room," May chastised, "I know you aren't his biggest fan but he's important, and has more connections to this stupid issue than we've told you."

"Want to tell me?"

"Can't," May sighed, "Don't try and coax it out of me either Drew I may be chatty but I can keep my mouth shut when I'm needed to."

"You've grown up," Drew mocked.

"You're such a prat," May laughed, sounding a little unsure, "Anyways I don't even know the full story; the Champions are a secretive bunch."

"They've always kinda struck me as a little…"

"Don't finish that sentence if you're going to bad mouth the Champions, if you're going to do it, do it somewhere without a camera that has audio pick up," She laughed pointing to a security camera hanging from the corner of the hallway, "Sorry for dragging you into all of this but I couldn't let you get caught up in the explosions when you helped me save Bonnie. Besides I've known you too long to leave you for Team Rocket."

Drew smirked and flicked his hair,

"Hmph, I could have handled Team Rocket, nice to know you have faith in me May."

"Hehe, I know you would have been OK, I just couldn't do it," May sighed, "I'm sorry if you didn't want to come here and I roped you into all of this anyway. You must have family that's worried."

"And that concerns you how?" Drew said, voice becoming slightly chilled.

"Oh, uh I guess it doesn't" May said staring at the ground, obviously picking up on his curt tone, "Well, I better go. You should head back to your room I guess, someone should be around to let you know what you'll be responsible for. I'll um… see you around."

Drew watched as she walked off with a wave and a forced smile. He should have known that she wasn't as thick skinned as she was before. She used to be able to handle his occasional cold attitude, but it was obvious why she couldn't anymore.

He really was a dick.

* * *

"Ash?" Gary called out as he attempted to catch up with the raven haired boy who was moving rather quickly down the hallway. He had left the scene so fast Pikachu hadn't been able to follow thus leaving Gary to return him to his trainer, that was Ash, always a thorn in his side, "Ash are you OK?"

Ash spun around, an uncharacteristic expression of worry and fear dawning on his face. Pikachu jumped up into Ash's arms with a concerned look on its face.

"Pika pi?"

"I… I don't know…" He said, sounding extremely unsure of himself, "Gary… what's really going on? What does all this mean? And don't give me the rehearsed explanation you did back there. I need to know and I need my oldest friend to tell me."

"Pika!" The mouse Pokémon agreed.

"Fine," Gary conceded, Ash _was_ his oldest friend and he couldn't lie to him, this was too closely tied to him for that, "What do you want to know?"

"What happened to Red?" Ash asked with a dark expression on his face.

Gary inhaled and exhaled deeply, what a loaded question. So many layers of bad blood and memories. Not Gary's favourite subjects. Even after ten years of not talking about it and pretending it didn't exist, it still bothered him. He'd kind of hoped Ash had forgotten all about it but the guy wasn't that scatter brained.

"You know I haven't spoken to him since we were eight, right?"

"Neither have I, but you obviously know more than I do," Ash argued, "But we knew him, we grew up with him. How did he end up with Team Rocket?"

Gary hesitated but eventually mumbled,

"I don't know."

"Is… 'she' involved?"

They both knew who Ash was referring to. Neither of them spoke her name to each other, it hurt Ash too much and left a bad taste in Gary's mouth.

"I'll admit I saw her recently, she's involved, but not with Team Rocket or The League."

"She spoke to you?!"

"Yeah, she did."

"Well that's… something?"

"Believe me, she's not much different. Worse if anything, you didn't miss out," Gary smirked, trying to lighten the mood a bit.

"Gary…" Ash began, definitely not in a lighter mood, "I'm scared, what's going to happen my mum, Tracey and your grandpa? They could be in danger! We have to warn them!"

He gritted his teeth, hating every word he was speaking,

"No, no we can't."

"But why?!"

"We aren't permitted to make contact with anyone outside, don't worry though, Gramps and your Mum are safe, they're at another League Location. Gramps is an asset apparently and he insisted your mum come along or he wouldn't help. He's just like you sometimes."

"And Tracey?"

"Not even in the region currently, he and Daisy went on a sexcapade to Sinnoh for the next couple weeks and I doubt they'll return after all this shit."

"Thank Arceus."

Gary hated lying, sure it wasn't all lies, but there were enough in that sentence to sicken him. It wasn't his fault though, the fucking League was speaking through him and it was disgusting.

"Gary, what does all this mean for Ethum? Y'know now that Kanto and Johto are in some trouble, again no lies."

No, he wouldn't be Lance's proxy; he would tell Ash what he genuinely thought was going on.

"If I'm being honest with you," Gary admitted in a whisper, "It could mean hostile takeover, it could mean an over throw of government, it could mean war."

"So what do we do?"

"We wait for the right moment and we kick ass, best we can."

* * *

Paul groaned inwardly as he opened the door to the room he had been assigned. From what he'd understood the base on Mt. Spirit was fairly pressed for space so he'd reluctantly went along with Lance's request that he share rooms with some of the others around the base. He hadn't slept at this base yet despite this being his third night here but as he looked at the room he was supposed to be staying in he realized he had a lot more roommates than he had initially been lead to believe.

The room was plain and grey, and as were the four bunk beds, that wasn't the annoyance however. It was the fact that people he hadn't been told were going to be here were currently occupying said bunk beds.

Ash, Cilan, and Drew were each sitting on the assigned beds. Paul scowled; on top of Oak, Maple, Harrison, and the glasses kid he had to put up with three more.

Seven pairs of eyes lay on him but surprisingly not even Ash acknowledged his presence other than a moments look in his direction. How very out of character for him, not that Paul was complaining, he'd rather be ignored than pestered. Pestered was what he got when he went to Veilstone to visit Reggie and Maylene, not when he was working.

He silently made his way to the only bed unused and placed his bag underneath. He lay down and stared at the bottom of the bed above him, he could hear the light snores of Brock just over his head. It was late and Paul really ought to sleep too since he hadn't in the past few days mostly due to the excessive amounts of work that had suddenly been presented his way.

"So…" Cilan began from the top of his bunk, breaking the silence much to Paul's displeasure, "What did the League end up assigning you to?"

Paul averted his eyes towards Ash, whom Cilan had been directing his question to. Ash blinked a few times, a blank look on his face, then shook his head a few times before replying,

"Misty wasn't really that specific when she told me, something about my use being undetermined."

Well that was true, not even Paul knew what exactly made Ash so important to Lance's initiative. Sure his unusual experiences were a factor, but there was something else that the Champions were not saying. If there was one thing Paul hated, it was liars or people who concealed truths.

"That is an odd explanation," Cilan agreed with a nod, "Do you know anything about this Brock?"

The older man jumped up and shook the sleep from himself, Paul could tell because it also happened to shake the entire bunk.

"I'm as lost as you are, I don't think I have jurisdiction or the rank to know that yet. Gary, do you know anything?" Brock asked uncertainly.

The researcher rolled over on the bottom bunk underneath Ash that he currently lay, facing the wall of the room and groaned,

"Look it's been a long ass day, keep talking if you want, but don't talk to me 'cause I don't know anything."

Paul couldn't help but silently agree with the guy, he hoped they would get the message and not speak with him either.

"Rude," Max muttered from another bed.

"Can it Maple." Gary growled, pulling his sheet up higher, "I don't recall anyone inviting you into this conversation."

"Like that's ever stopped me," The kid muttered.

"Shut up, you're like eleven, what do you know?"

"Fifteen, jackass."

Gary whistled in mock amazement.

"Do you know anything about it?" Cilan asked, turning his attention towards Paul.

Not wanting to respond Paul grunted as standoffish as he could as to keep their questions away.

"Is he always like that Ash?" Cilan whispered, but not quiet enough that Paul didn't hear.

Ash shrugged noncommittally with a distracted look on his face.

"Are you OK?"

"Yeah," Ash said, Paul almost snorted at how unconvincing his answer was.

"You just seem a little… off," Cilan said with a voice filled with what Paul suspected was concern.

"I'm fine, just a little tired. Don't worry about it."

"Great, now can you please take a hint and shut it?" Drew said scathingly, "Some of us are actually tired here."

Here, here. Paul would drink to that.

"Sorry," Cilan mumbled.

This was going to be a long road to hell that's for sure. Paul was already hating every moment of this.

* * *

Iris was frustrated.

There was something off about this. All of this.

Fraxure was sleeping at the edge of her bed and it didn't look like it had a care in the world. It's trainer on the other hand, couldn't sleep. The entire situation was keeping her up.

"Hey Iris?" Serena said suddenly climbing up onto Iris's bunk, "Is something bothering you?"

Iris shifted over, leaving room for the dirty blonde teen to crawl underneath the covers next to her. Serena took her up on her offer and lay down next to her friend.

"I don't know…" Iris admitted, "I was talking to Cilan on the plane ride to Kanto, there's something more to this than anyone is telling us."

"How do you mean? I thought you didn't know anything about this."

"I didn't, but I have this feeling, like I did before I knew about this, there's something we don't know and it's important."

Serena, like the good person she was, took Iris's concerns seriously and replied,

"Are these your instincts kicking in right now? I learned a while ago that it's probably a good idea to trust them, especially since it's you."

"I just know that something bad is going to happen, I don't know. Hey Serena?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you trust the League?"

"I guess so; I don't really have much interaction with them other than at events. Clemont is one of my best friends and Diantha has always been kind to me. Why do you ask? You're part of the League aren't you? Why are you suspicious of them?"

"Hmm… it's not that I don't trust them. Some of my best friends are part of the League as well, Cilan, Chili, Cress, Bianca, Adler, but I know that the Champions, or at least Lance, aren't telling us something."

"Isn't that normal though," Serena inquired, "There are some things that us little people can't know."

Iris frowned deeply,

"It's still eating away at me."

"So what job did they give you?" Serena asked, changing the subject, "They didn't give me one yet, I have a feeling they don't have much use for a Pokémon Performer here, if Ash hadn't made that deal with Lance, I probably would have been sent off."

"Lance may be a Champion and a skilled Dragon Trainer and I may think he's pretty cool, but he'd be pretty stupid not to see your worth. Trust me."

"Hah… thanks," Serena smiled.

"So what do you think of all the people who came in with us?"

"I was pretty excited to meet Dawn and May," Serena blushed, "They're coordinating is legendary and I used to watch their shows before I was a trainer."

"Haha!" Iris snickered, "You'll be pretty happy to know then that when those two found out Cilan and I knew you they just about died with excitement. Seriously May almost wet her pants."

"Really?" Serena giggled, looking at the bunk bed across from them where the two girls in question slept. Dawn looked serene and quite beautiful as she slept, May on the other hand was clutching her pillow, mouth hanging open and breathing heavily, Iris was pretty sure she saw the glint drool on her cheek as well.

"What about everyone else? I for one did not like that new Sinnoh Champion guy," Iris scoffed, "He was so rude."

"Paul Dunham?" Serena confirmed, "He's kind of intimidating but I guess there's got to be a reason he's taking over Cynthia's position, right?"

"Whatever, he still is not nice; you should have heard the things he said on our way here."

"Everyone else seemed nice though, I'm so glad that Drew was able to help May and Bonnie."

"Do you know him?"

"A little, we've attended a lot of the same events in the past few years so he's an acquaintance I suppose. We've talked, but only small talk."

There was a long silence between them before Serena asked,

"Do you really think something's up?"

Iris turned her head away from Serena and stared at the ceiling,

"I don't think, I know."

* * *

_Iris didn't want to open her eyes, the reason for that was... unclear, but she just had a feeling if she opened them she'd see something she'd rather not. Call it her instincts at work. She used her other senses to determine what might exactly be around her. She heard the flowing of water, and it echoed as if she was in an enclosed space. It was a little stuffy, but she could still feel a light draft coming from... well she wasn't sure.  
_

_There was a certain... familiarity to this place, but she also felt unease and dread. Something was off about this place, maybe spiritually. Iris had always believed in Aura's and Energies, this place did not have welcoming one. It was... ancient... angry... almost as if violated. It didn't sit well with her and actually made her feel as though she herself had been intruded upon.  
_

_Then she heard a voice._

"Child. Awaken."

_It was ominous, deep, and other worldly._

_She forced herself to open her eyes and observe her surroundings. She was in a cave as she suspected, there was a steady flow of water that fell down each ledge that lead down the the lowest level, almost like a staircase, where Iris was currently situated.  
_

_Looking around there was other entrances or exits to the cave, but they were dark and Iris hadn't the faintest idea as to where they would lead._

"Child."

_Iris turned her head quickly to the source of the voice, at the top of the stair like cave was a dark silhouette. Maybe silhouette wasn't the best term to use, it was like a mist, it held a very loose shape, one Iris couldn't make out._

_She was scared, too scared to move, but at the same time she felt an odd... connection to... something. Maybe it was the location, maybe the black mist, maybe the voice, Iris didn't know._

"Awaken."

* * *

"Iris, Iris wake up," A voice whispered.

Iris winced, it was definitely still night time she couldn't have been asleep for more than a few hours, yet here she was being awoken. Still she wasn't going to pretend no one was there so she pried her eyes open and let them adjust to the darkness.

Had she been dreaming? She couldn't remember, but she felt she was forgetting something important. That knot in her stomach grew tighter.

When she could see properly she recognized Serena lying next to her, awake and obviously the person who had woken her. She must have fallen asleep up on Iris's bunk while they were talking last night.

"Serena?" Iris said groggily, "What's wrong? What time is it?"

"It's still night time."

"Then why am I awake?"

"Look," Serena replied turning her head towards the others, all the girls they were rooming with were either out of bed and pajama clad, or just raising from their pillows.

"What's going on?"

"Clemont sent Bonnie and I a message, we all need to meet up with Gary, something's going on."

Iris rubbed her eyes tiredly but still mutter out a sarcastic,

"Called it."

Serena chuckled lightly despite the tense atmosphere the room held,

"Come on, we have to go." Serena said as she carefully climbed down the bunk ladder.

Iris hoped off the bed nimbly and asked the room,

"Does anyone have pants or something?"

She only had on a loose fitting t shirt and her knickers so…

"Here," Dawn responded, throwing Iris a pair of shorts while she fussed over her bed head furiously.

Iris thanked her groggily while she noticed Misty getting up with an annoyed expression on her face,

"Why am I being woken up?" She grumbled to May. The brunette shrugged with a confused expression on their face.

"Bonnie said that Clemont messaged her saying to meet Gary," May explained, equally pissed to be awake.

"Does Lance know about this?" Misty asked, "I mean, I like Gary, but he's not exactly… I don't know…"

Iris frowned, wondering what she could have been about to say before she trailed off.

"Not sure," May admitted, "But it came from Clemont and he seems like he'd follow protocol and all that."

"He would!" Bonnie piped up, "My brother's always been the well behaved one, to the point where it's annoying."

Misty appeared skeptical but nodded,

"Well let's go then, this should be interesting."

Iris was getting that hollow, nervous feeling in her stomach again. Something wasn't right. Again.

* * *

Paul woke up to the sound of squeaking bed springs and low mutters. The fact that he was awake didn't make him angry; in fact he was only sleeping lightly as his normal wake up time was most likely drawing near. The fact that it was _them_ made it a problem.

It was painfully obvious that they were pulling something and were trying their best not to wake him up.

He thought about ignoring it and just rolling back to sleep. That would certainly be the easier option and normally would be the one Paul would go with, getting involved in the affairs of others was not something he tended to do, but under the current circumstances he decided to force himself to get up and see what was going on.

He heard someone, probably Oak, whisper,

"Oh shit Paul's up."

There were murmurs of similar natures that followed, everyone was up and about and staring at him, Deerlings caught in headlights.

"Don't piss yourselves I won't do anything, just tell me what's going on."

Gary stepped up,

"I have some news that you might want to know, and we're just headed off to relay it to a few others. Come with us, I'll show you when we get there."

Paul gave him a hard stare that didn't seem to bother Gary whatsoever.

"So what do you say?"

"Fine," He conceded as he stood up, "But this better be worth it."

"Oh trust me," Gary exhaled, "It will be."

Paul shrugged waited for the others coming, which was apparently everyone, Arceus this was a pain in the ass.

"Does anyone else know about this?" Brock inquired in a whisper.

Gary shook his head,

"Just us and the ones we're meeting up with."

"Who are?"

"You know who," Drew muttered groggily, "This is obviously not authorized or some shit, so just can it and let's get this over with."

"Well no one said you had to come Drew," Max retorted, standing up for his older friend, "Believe me I would be fine with you staying here."

Drew sneered but didn't reply.

What was Paul getting himself into? These people were unbearable.

"Look, I'm all for breaking rules when needed and stuff," Ash said, "But aren't there cameras all around here? And where's Clemont anyways?"

"Fixing our camera problem," Gary replied.

"Huh?"

"The hallways computers are going to 'accidentally' malfunction."

"Oh."

"Everyone ready?" Cilan asked.

They all agreed and Paul couldn't help but wonder again what the hell he had gotten himself into.

* * *

"Everyone here?" Clemont asked Gary when the two groups wandered in in a sluggish manner. Even Serena, who was normally put together, could barely keep her eyes open.

"Yeah," The older boy answered, "You sure all the cameras are down?"

"All the necessary ones, an agent called and asked why and I said there was a malfunction, and not to worry, I'm working on it. It should buy us at least a half hour, probably more."

"Perfect, you are a life saver, thanks for this," The auburn haired researcher replied, "I know you probably didn't want to go against the League's rules or whatever."

Clemont chuckled slightly, though he was still a little shy around Gary it was surprisingly easy to talk to him, they were both on similar intellectual wave lengths and Gary was a pretty nice guy.

"I traveled with Ash for a year, believe me, it taught me that sometimes bending rules is necessary."

"I guess that's Ash for ya," Gary remarked, "I'm glad we're on the same page here, because I honestly don't expect to—"

Their conversation was cut off by Bonnie's indignant pout,

"Are we going to get started because some of us have sleep to catch up on? I hope you didn't call us here so we could watch you two geek out for no reason."

"Ahhh…" Clemont blushed, "No we have something to show you."

"Then get on with it," Misty grouched, obviously not a morning person.

Clemont nodded quickly and booted up the computer system, he took Gary's phone and connected it to the monitor.

"You explain OK?" He said when he had finished the setup, "You know more about this than I do."

Gary agreed and began his explanation.

"It's not exactly a secret among those who are involved with the League that I am not a fan exactly. The amount of trust I have in them is about the size of a Sunkern. May, Misty, Paul, Brock, and whoever else I'm forgetting, you've probably noticed my distaste for them during our time preparing for this shit storm. All you new recruits, I suggest you start sharing the same opinion with me."

"I swear to Arceus if this is what you brought us here to hear…" Drew muttered.

"No it isn't Cabbage Patch Kid," Gary countered, "I have a source outside of the League with considerable means and she's sent me some… interesting information on the development of this situation. Clemont, if you would like to project the video file, now is the best time."

The blond nodded and typed in a few lines of code before a video was brought up on the screen. Clemont had seen it already but it still never failed to shock him.

On the screen appeared a boy, he looked about Ash's age but everything about him was different. He wore all black and his facial expression was hard and unfeeling, his dark eyes were blank and he had brown hair. He seemed to be wearing what Clemont recognized as a version of the Team Rocket Executive uniform.

Taking a peek at Ash, Clemont could instantly see the distress and disbelief that marred his face. Clemont was vaguely aware of the connection between the two, he didn't know the details of it but Gary had mentioned once that they had grown up with him since they were practically babies. It was more than understandable that Ash would be upset by this turn of events; Clemont hated seeing his friend like that, but at the same time he was confident in Ash's ability to jump back up out of a rut.

"Greetings Ethum, my name is Red Talbot, former victor of the Indigo League Conference of 2007, ex G-Men agent, and as I'm sure it is obvious, Team Rocket Executive," The boy began speaking, voice devoid of inflection, "As of March 3rd, 2015 Lance Ebner was released from his position as Championship of the regions of Kanto and Johto. After I defeated him in battle the title was passed to me. Make no mistake, if you think I will lead in the same way as my predecessor or that the authority of Lorelei Ackermann in anyway will be an intimidation to the plans of Team Rocket. As we speak the organization is taking action in ways that will soon be apparent. It would be unwise to stand in our way."

The screen cut off.

Clemont saw Ash's distraught and disbelieving face, he looked utterly betrayed and it was almost heartbreaking.

"That isn't all," Gary spoke up, "I've received information from my outside source that Goldenrod City and Celedon City have been taken fully under the control of Team Rocket, as well as many others in both regions. The Prime Minister and her government are trying to apprehend them but due to their lack of G-Men… well it isn't going that well. I have clips but... they aren't for those faint of heart so I won't be sharing at the moment."

"What about the International Police? What about the other regions? Aren't they doing anything?" Cilan piped up.

"From what I understand, they haven't sent help yet. They're probably more concerned with making sure that their own region isn't taken over."

"That's probably true," Misty agreed, and then elaborated further, "When I attended a meeting between the Champions Lance said that Kanto and Johto's fate was inevitable and it was up to the other regions to arm themselves and pick up the pieces."

"I don't like the sound of that," Drew replied disapprovingly, "Sounds like he just threw in the towel and left all the citizens of the region to fend for themselves. What is it he's even done since all this happened? I mean, other than hide out in a damn mountain."

"I'm sorry," Misty snapped, "You don't even know Lance, so keep your damn assumptions to yourself."

"Guys…" May mumbled as if trying to defuse the situation.

"Where are you getting this from?" Paul asked skeptically, "And how? I thought we weren't able to have contact with anyone outside."

"That may be," Gary said, "But I'm not exactly an idiot, I know that the League hides a shit ton of information so I may have made arrangements should this gig not work out, and so far it isn't."

"Doesn't really answer my question," Paul muttered.

"But why exactly are you showing us this in secret?" Brock inquired.

This time Clemont spoke up,

"When Gary and I discussed the subject, he mentioned that the League had no intention of showing this to us, we just wanted you to know and get your opinion on the situation."

"You put it so nicely," Gary remarked as he pat Clemont on the shoulder, "I wanted to let you know that the League will have no intention of allowing you to help in any way they don't see fit. Originally I planned only to speak with Ashy since he's nosier than a Nosepass, but it sort of got out of hand apparently and everyone got wind of this meeting. I plan on leaving this place soon and heading out on my own to do what I can, without the constraints of Lance or his bloody G-Men."

"I knew it," Misty muttered.

"What?"

"That you're anti-league."

"I wouldn't say that, I'm just not a supporter per say. I hope you'll keep your mouth shut though Mist, for old times' sake."

Misty scowled,

"That's the same thing as anti-league."

"You don't see me joining Team Rocket, do you? So seriously, get over yourself."

Misty's tongue pressed against her cheek but she didn't respond.

"What do you think about this Clemont?" Serena said suddenly, looking at him with worried eyes.

Clemont's eyebrows furrowed together, he honestly didn't know what he thought up until now so the words that he uttered were a bit of a surprise for him,

"I'm not saying that anyone's wrong or right, I mean, I am part of the League being a gym leader and all. I can understand Gary's desire to leave, but I also see the merit of staying. Really… it just depends on the person. Standing by and only assisting in the background might be frustrating for some, and after seeing footage of the Team Rocket takeovers… I wouldn't blame anyone for wanting to stand aside from Lance's planning."

"So you want us to come with you Gary," Dawn concluded, "That's quite the request."

"Yeah…" Iris said doubtfully, looking as though she was seriously considering the offer.

"This is pathetic, and a waste of my time," Paul scoffed as he turned to leave, "You all are insane, have fun with your conspiracy theories."

"I'm not asking you to come, just consider your positions in this place. Are you contented staying put?" Gary pointed out.

The two males held each other's stare for a long time, Paul looked angry and Gary questioning and unafraid of the older trainer's mood.

"Tch, whatever," Paul frowned as he opened the door and left.

"What a jerk," Bonnie commented as she folded her arms huffing.

"You can say that again," Iris nodded.

Dawn stared at her hands.

"So…" May began, "What does this mean then? Are you all going with him?"

"I'll be leaving the day after tomorrow so you can all decide for yourselves, I don't need you all, but I wouldn't complain," Gary replied flippantly.

"Always the charmer," Misty replied sarcastically, "Now can we go to bed, no matter what we choose that doesn't change the fact that Team Rocket is a huge threat and we'll all need to be well rested."

"Good idea," Clemont agreed, I'm going to need the cameras up and running soon so you all should head back, sorry about all this."

Everyone nodded, and left the same way Paul did, all of them except for Ash, who lingered behind. He hadn't spoken or given any input which was quite odd considering his personality.

"What's up Ash?"

"Just… processing," He said carefully.

"Are you going to go with Gary...?"

"I don't know… I trust you… what do you think? What should I do?"

"Whatever you feel is right; just know this," Clemont replied honestly, "No matter what happens I'll support you, if you go… so will I."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A looooonng chapter. A lot of questions are answered. A lot of new ones presented. I hope you all enjoyed it and if you have any questions just PM me or ask via review, or on my tumblr page (linked on my bio).
> 
> I probably won't update again until Castles and Bricks has been updated.
> 
> Thanks! I hope you all have a lovely day!


	7. Concrete

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Choices are made, and they will change everything.

**May 29** **th** **2014**

**Veilstone City**

**11:54pm**

"Hey Reggie!" Dawn sang as she opened the door to the breeder's house, "I've got all the ingredients for Poffins! You'll never guess who I ran into at the market~!"

"Reggie Veggie!" Maylene cried out, "Your ball and chain decided to stop by!"

"Come on in you two!" Reggie called out in response, "I'm out back, and we've got company."

Dawn raised her eyebrows, and turned to Maylene,

"Reggie has company? I didn't realize he had friends outside of the two of us."

"Hey don't tease my boyfriend, only I can do that," The pink haired Gym Leader grinned, nudging Dawn's side, "All jokes aside though, it's probably just a trainer coming by to pick up one of their Pokémon."

Dawn headed for the kitchen and settled down the bags of berries on the counter top, and began washing them in the sink,

"Come on Piplup, the quicker these berries are washed, the quicker you get your poffins," She coaxed the blue penguin Pokémon as it jumped up to assist her with an enthusiastic 'Lup!', "Maylene, you can go ahead with Reggie, I'll get some lunch ready for us and the Pokémon."

Maylene gave her a thumbs up and ran out to the backyard of the house, bare feet and all, Dawn didn't see the girl tackle her boyfriend, but she sure did hear it. It sounded as if Reggie had fallen to the ground with an 'umph', Maylene really didn't know her own strength. Dawn smiled.

Dawn hummed happily as she prepared the lunches for both the Pokémon, and the people of the house. Giving slight instruction to Piplup every once in a while,

"Pachirisu and Mamoswine are going to love these!"

"Lup, Pilup!" Her companion agreed.

"Gotta make sure I make some variety though, lots of Pokémon to feed after all. But no need to worry, we can do it!"

"Pip!"

Although she had only been living in Veilstone City for almost a couple months, Dawn felt as if she was already finding her place here. She was living with Maylene, someone who was never boring and always fun, and under the apprenticeship of Reggie to learn about Pokémon Breeding.

It felt good to take off this Contest Season, after traveling in Unova and becoming Top Coordinator in its first Grand Festival, she felt great, but she knew her Pokémon needed a break. She wanted to take a year, train, learn how to better care for her closest friends, and succeed further. That was why she was here.

Reggie was an excellent teacher, she remembered how nice he'd been back when she was traveling with Ash and he had seldom changed since then. Two months in and Reggie had integrated her into his practice seamlessly, her Pokémon were staying in his huge space outside. It was a wonderful feeling, knowing everything was going well, and she intended to keep it that way.

As she contemplated this she had nearly finished the lunch she had prepared. Making some final touches, after all food tasted ten times better when it was presented well, she began to set the table indoors for Reggie, Maylene, herself, and the guest, assuming they were staying.

When she was satisfied with the layout of the meal she began to bring out the Pokémon food.

"It's ready!" She announced.

Instantly the Pokémon outdoors, crowded towards Dawn, each finding their respective bowl of food. Giving her Pokémon, as well as the others a big smile and a pat, she saw Reggie, Maylene, and someone she thought she recognized heading towards the house.

She followed in suit,

"Hey," She greeted, "Sorry I took so long at the market Reggie."

The Breeder chuckled,

"I suspect that was mostly Maylene's doing," The girl in question pouted but didn't say otherwise, Reggie turned to the guest, whose face Dawn still hadn't gotten a clear look at, and said, "You staying for lunch Paul? There's plenty."

"No," A gruff voice replied, "I should be going."

Wait Paul?!

As in Ash's old rival Paul?

Mew, sometimes Dawn forgot that Paul was Reggie's brother.

"Paul?" She marveled out loud, "Gosh, you've changed."

He had, he was much taller. When she had last seen him he had been around her height. Now, even with Dawn's above average height, he was considerably larger than her. His hair had grown out and he had a much more commanding air about him than before (was that even possible?). His face was less boyish but his displeased expression hadn't really changed at all.

"Sorry, who are you?"

Oh, so it was like that.

"Y'know I recall telling you some years ago not to forget my name," Dawn frowned, recalling the moment she had to be held back by Brock, lest she kick Mr. Know it All in the face.

Paul's face still did not change in recognition. Reggie interjected,

"This is Dawn Berlitz, my student; remember I mentioned I'd taken someone on."

"She looks… familiar."

Dawn was practically fuming but concealed it under a forced (and probably terrifying) smile,

"I traveled with Ash, ring a bell?"

"Ash?" Paul questioned, suddenly interested in the conversation, "Ah, you're his loud friend."

"Yeah… that's me," Dawn managed, biting her cheek bitterly. Was that how she was remembered? How embarrassing.

"I better be going, thanks Reggie."

Wow he really ended that conversation, didn't he?

"Come on Paulie," Maylene said in a baby voice, probably knowing that it pissed Paul off, "Dawn even set a place for you. You should stay, even if it's for another hour."

Paul gave Maylene an unimpressed look and turned to Dawn questioningly.

"Yeah, you should definitely stay!" She forced out, "There's more than enough for all of us!"

Like she meant it.

Lunch would have been fine, the conversation was pleasant, the food was awesome if she did say so herself, but there was the dark looming cloud of awkwardness. That cloud's name was Paul.

Seriously he didn't even contribute unless spoken to but Dawn felt so unnatural sitting across from him, almost like she was doing something wrong. It was annoying.

His attitude was definitely as she remembered it; he was less disrespectful towards Maylene though, Dawn supposed that counted for something. It was probably because she was dating his brother though. There was definitely something different about him, not something obvious, but something Dawn couldn't put her finger on. It kinda bothered her that she couldn't figure it out.

Piplup apparently didn't like Paul much as it voiced that opinion quite verbally. Paul gave it no response. Dawn had to force herself not to laugh at her starter Pokémon's indignant attitude and anger.

She had excused herself to start up on dishes, Reggie had to tend to some Pokémon and Maylene was heading back to her Gym for her afternoon challengers. Paul lingered.

Augh.

He cleared the table with her which was… civil (aka, really creepy), and offered to dry the dishes but she insisted she do it herself. Way too weird, doing dishes with Paul that is.

Now he was kind of just… looking at her. No particular feeling was in his expression, it was as if he was studying a specimen or something. It was really offsetting. She didn't like feeling like a lab rat.

She glanced up, eyebrow twitching as she tried to keep a friendly smile on her face, when in reality she was getting super impatient,

"Is there something you need?"

He hesitated a moment before making an observation.

"You're a coordinator."

The way he said that pissed her off so the smile dropped from her face and she scowled deeply,

"Got a problem with that?"

If he was surprised by her sudden demeanor change he didn't show it, he simply replied monosyllabically,

"No."

"Because contrary to a lot of assholes' opinions, Coordinating is more than a glorified beauty contest. I could whoop most of those stupid league trainers butts y'know."

"I know."

"Huh?" That kind of surprised her.

"You won, in Unova."

"Yeah I did," Dawn affirmed cautiously, "I didn't see you as the type to watch the Grand Festival."

"I study a variety of battle styles."

"Of course you do," Dawn muttered under her breath. This guy really was too much.

"Your Pokémon… were interesting choices."

She wasn't sure to what Pokémon he was referring but given his track record of harsh criticism, Dawn wasn't about to ask him to elaborate.

"Not sure how to take that, but OK," Dawn replied then changed the topic towards him, she was after all curious to see what he'd been up to these past few years, "Last time I saw you, you planned on challenging Brandon again. How'd that go?"

Paul stiffened,

"I have yet to challenge him again."

"Any reason why?" She inquired, he had been so determined before. Time did change people, but from what she understood from when she'd last seen him he was going to challenge Brandon again fairly quickly.

"Because I realized that my reasoning and motivation was flawed, I am not my brother. I see no need to prove myself to him, Brandon, or me."

"Is that really it?"

"Yes, why?"

"Sort of expected more, but hey, your life, your business. What have you been doing instead?"

"Training."

How specific. Dawn was trying really hard here and he was giving her nothing.

"That sounds like you."

"What about Ash?"

"Oh, Ash is back on his journey again," Dawn explained as she wiped her hands on her pants, finishing the dishes, "He was a Sinnoh Frontier Brain for a few years after he competed in the Kalos League. He's back in Kanto though, earning badges again. He finally feels like he's strong enough to take on the Champion League."

"I should be going," He said abruptly.

"Alright," She wasn't about to keep him.

"How long are you staying with Reggie?"

"For the Season probably."

"Next time I stop by, I want to battle you."

That threw her off.

"May I ask why?"

"I already told you," He said, sounding slightly annoyed as he headed for the door to leave.

Dawn was honestly at a loss for words. He was even weirder than she remembered.

**March 13** **th** **, 2015**

**Mt. Spirit, League Hideout**

**11:01am**

Ash stood at the door to Lance's office or whatever it was. It was kind of intimidating since there seemed to be two G-Men agents looking at him with looks that might just be able to kill.

"Uh…" He began, not sure how to approach the two of them, "Can I see Lance, or is he like, busy or something?"

The female agent gave him an unimpressed stare,

" _Champion_ Lance is not available at the moment."

Ash frowned, somewhat annoyed by her dismissive attitude, so far all of the G-Men agents he'd seen so far were all like that. What was stuck up their butts that make them so rude? They were all high and mighty just because they were secret spies or something. If Ash was in their position he would never—OK maybe his head would grow a bit, but honestly these people were uncannily self-important.

"Well when will he be available?" He asked through gritted teeth.

"That is not something I can determine."

The woman was only adding to Ash's frustration, ever since he had gotten back from Gary's little excursion last night he hadn't been able to sleep. There had been too much too think about. He couldn't help but think about what Gary had said about wanting to leave this place and deal with the situation on his own. All the things he was saying about the League… well Ash wanted to see what he meant by it. He was pretty sure he was starting to and these two agents weren't exactly disproving anything.

"Well I want to know what he wants me doing, I can't just sit here and go nothing!" Ash yelled, "This is insane! Lance can't keep me here with no purpose!"

" _Champion_ Lance has not determined your use as of right now."

"Yeah, that's what I've been told but I want to know what the hell I'm here for."

"That is classified."

Ash growled,

"Lance expects me to just hand myself over to him no questions asked, and he can use me however he likes?"

Sure Ash had had his run ins with Lance in the past and they'd been comrades of some kind but at this moment he had a lot of built up anger towards the guy. He was so different compared to the nice guy he'd met back in Johto when he was ten, this Lance was much less willing to divulge any information or accept help. Whatever happened between the years Ash had had his dealings with Lance and now really did change the man and Ash was fairly sure so far it wasn't a good thing.

"Look kid," The male agent spoke up, in a tone just as stony, "Show a little more respect for the Champion, you aren't in charge here, he is."

" _Former_ Champion," Ash retorted, "I'd keep in mind the Red defeated him, first try."

Before the two could respond Ash was already stalking away, thoroughly angered.

"Pika pi?" Pikachu cried out as he ran to follow his trainer.

"Not now Pikachu, I'm not in the mood to talk."

"Chu…" The yellow Pokémon muttered, obviously miffed by Ash's dismissive attitude.

"Sorry bud," Ash sighed, unable to snap at his best friend without apology, "It's just… those two were sort of awful."

Pikachu nodded sagely, agreeing with his trainer.

"Do you think I should go with Gary?"

"Pika?"

"Yeah I want to, but I'm just wondering if I'm making the right choice."

"Chu? Pikachu!" The mouse Pokemon replied indignantly.

His friend was right, Ash never made such thought out choices, he needed to make this one the way he always did. Quickly and the way his heart and conscience led him.

"I guess we're headed out with Gary then," Ash decided, clenching his fists determinedly, "If I don't know what I'm supposed to do here, the answers got to be out there somewhere, and I'm going to find it and figure out how we can fix all this."

"Chu!"

* * *

"Hey Cilan," Iris said with a half-hearted smile, as she approached the green haired trainer, "What are you up to?"

"Nothing, just looking over some files on Team Rocket for Lance, he wants to get a psychological perspective on it. I suppose reading people and Pokémon is what I do. What's up with you?" Cilan replied.

"I'm thinking."

"Such an unfamiliar recipe, don't hurt yourself," He remarked, a small smile playing at his lips.

"Har dee har har," Iris said while rolling her eyes, "I'm surprised you're not considering what happened last night."

Cilan gave her a confused look,

"Oh believe me, I am. I just already know what I'm going to do."

Iris was surprised initially, but then remembered who she was speaking to, Cilan was always very sure of himself, and even when he wasn't, it wouldn't be long until he was.

"What did you decide? I don't know what to do," She admitted with a sigh, it had been bothering her all day, this damn choice and she just wanted to make it already.

"You don't?" Cilan gasped, "You're always so sure of yourself. It's not like you to get indecisive."

"I know, I know," Iris replied, feeling overwhelmed, "I just keep think about what Drayden would say, or Alder."

"Your mentors," He remarked.

With a nod the Dragon Type trainer continued,

"I know that Drayden would tell me follow my instincts, but Adler, despite his leniency, would want me to stay with the League and do my part as a Gym Leader. That's what I promised when I became the Leader of my Gym."

Cilan contemplated this a moment before giving his opinion on the subject,

"Just because you learn from your mentors doesn't mean you should necessarily make the same choices they would. You are after all, your own person. That's why I don't think I should tell you my choice until you've made up your own mind. Create your own combination of spices, don't try and mimic someone else's. That's the Iris I know."

That was fair enough. As much as Iris didn't like admitting it, the kid was right. This was her choice, even Gary had specifically said so, and no one was going to influence her decision.

"I…" She hesitated slightly before she clenched her fists and said with resolve, "I'm going with Gary, whether or not Ash decides to. I think that despite my admiration for Lance as a Dragon Type specialist, I don't think I can work under him. He pisses me off to be frank."

It was true, she didn't trust Lance as much as she was in awe of him. He'd grown up in the Village of Dragons, like her, but she'd never made contact with him. Drayden on the other hand, was his mentor, and didn't like speaking of Lance. Iris never understood why, but with Drayden, there was always a good reason, so she'd trust that reason and not work under him.

Cilan smiled slightly,

"I'm glad you came to your own conclusion."

"You going to tell me what you decided?"

"I'm going to stick with Ash."

"Mind if I ask why?"

Cilan looked as though he was lost in thought, he got like that a lot and Iris always wondered what exactly had him thinking so deeply.

"I feel… a sort of… responsibility to protect Ash. I don't know exactly what it is but I feel like I need to be a pillar of stability for him. He's like a third brother to me and I want to be there for him. Brock and I feel the same way about this. We came to an agreement, if Ash leave I go and Brock stays. A brother-like figure needs to keep an eye on him and Brock and I agreed it would be me. Poor guy, I could tell he was torn about making that choice but in the end, he's a smart guy and had his reasons."

Iris's heart swelled, Cilan really was a sweetheart and she admired him for that. It was one of her favourite traits about him.

"That's…" Iris couldn't think of what to say.

"Plus," Cilan added, "I want to make sure my brothers are OK. I'm more than a little worried about them."

That was something Cilan hadn't spoken about since they got here, Iris hadn't even thought of it but he must have been worried sick. She was too, over the years she'd become so close with the Auclair family, she was anxious to find out how the two were doing.

"Don't worry, Cress and Chili are strong. They wouldn't let this get them down, and if they had, we definitely would have heard Chili's protests. Honestly that kid is so loud."

Cilan shook off the worried look on his face,

"Y-yeah, yeah it'll be fine, anyways enough about me, why are you going?"

"You know me, follow my gut. Besides," Iris smirked, "I never could say no to an adventure."

* * *

Brock rubbed his forehead in an attempt to ease his stress. He had finished healing up some G-Men Pokémon that were currently in recovery but other than that he had no other responsibilities other than to fill out their paperwork. When it came to being a Pokémon Doctor, that was not an aspect of the job he loved. Especially not now, with all this crap he had to think about. It was weighing on his mind and he couldn't bring himself to concentrate.

"What's hanging Brocko?" Max said from behind him.

His heart practically leapt out of his throat he was so shocked, that's what happened when you thought too hard.

"Dammit Max, you scared me," The man laughed, "And please don't try with the 'hip' lingo. It doesn't work for me; it definitely won't work for a nerd like you."

"Hehe, I am aware yes," The new Gym Leader snickered, "I only use these terms ironically."

"I figured," He answered, "What's up with you kid?"

"I'm here for advice."

"Alright, shoot."

"I'm thinking about what Gary was talking about, and he came to me this morning, asking what I thought. Thing is, I don't think I'm going to go. I mean, I just became a Gym Leader, without Gary here they will be down a researcher and… I think I trust the League. I know that if May finds out what I think she'll be swayed in her decision making, and I want her to make her own choices. You've always been smart… what should I do?"

Over the years Brock had kept in touch with Max, he reminded him of his younger siblings and he offered whatever help he could to Max when he called. He knew Max was right about May, after what she and her brother had been through it wouldn't shock Brock if she clung to Max. The two had been through a lot, and it had really affected May, that much was obvious to anyone who'd known her before _it_ happened.

"What should you do...?" Brock pondered, "I think it would be silly for me to tell you that. It would also be silly to let May dictate it as well. This is your life Max, you're a Gym Leader, a researcher, and by the end of a year you'll be a full fledged adult by your region's standards. I'm staying back because I know my value and where I'm needed, you just need to find out where you're most needed."

"I think..." Max began, he took about a minute's pause before he finally said, "I'm needed here. I'm a Gym Leader and Wallace asked me to do this specifically. Besides, even if I'm not with Ash I can still be a help to him from here."

"How do you know Ash is going?"

"Come on Brock, of course he is, there's no question."

Brock chuckled lightly, agreeing with the younger boy,

"I think you're right, I'm not going either. This place needs an experienced Pokémon doctor and they'll need someone with my skillset. I think you should stay if you feel that's right, besides, whoever does leave will need a middle man between them and the League. I'll be here to stick with you, besides, Clemont is making some communication devices"

"And May?"

"She's a big girl, I know she's strong, remind her of that strength."

"And if I can't?"

"Find someone who can."

* * *

"Dad?" Clemont asked, as he approached his father in the engine room, "You have that look on your face again."

Clemont was supposed to be working with his dad on various machines and inventions to assist the League but was slightly distracted by the expression on his father's face.

Meyer looked at his son indignantly,

"Whaaaa?" He denied unconvincingly, "What are you talking about?"

"You have that… face, y'know what Bonnie calls it, I won't say it because I know how much you hate it, but you totally do. Is Mrs. Ketchum here or something?"

"Uh, no."

OK, Clemont had meant that as a joke, but judging by awful attempt at falsehood on his father's part Clemont had hit the nail on the head.

"Dad, you can't lie," Clemont laughed, "You have that look on your face that you have every time you have… y'know!" Meyer blushed furiously, stuttering like an idiot (something Clemont occasionally also did), "Could you be any more obvious? Where is Ash's mum?"

"Ok, ok, you can't tell anyone but Delia is here." Meyer said, motioning with his hands to keep the volume down.

"What?! Why doesn't Ash know about this?! He should! How can Lance keep this from him?"

"I don't know the full story—"

"Of course," Clemont groaned, he was beginning to notice that as a trend. The full story was always concealed, as a scientist that was one of the worst feelings he could have.

"But I do know that he can't know she's here," Meyer continued, "Please… please don't say anything, I only found out by chance."

Clemont bit his lip,

"As long as I'm in this place, I won't say anything." That was a cagey answer but Clemont couldn't promise something he couldn't follow through with, and he might not be here much longer.

"Thanks, just trust me, there's a very substantial reason for this, I just don't know all of it."

"Still," Clemont grinned, pretending he wasn't thinking about how Lance was lying to one of his best friends, "You better work on that poker face because if I was able to guess, wait till Bonnie comes to see you."

"Arceus in heaven, how does she even know about that stuff?"

"Bonnie's a big girl and a whole lot more perceptive about those things than you and I put together. I mean she started proposing to women for me when she turned four."

"She is perceptive, isn't she," Meyer mused, "Your mother Maria was just the same."

"You don't talk about Mum that much anymore." Clemont commented sadly, "You used to."

"You… you know it was hard for me when she passed, talking was my way of… coping. I know that wasn't fair to you and Bonnie, I just went on and on and on and I shouldn't have. I'll always love my wife, your mother, but she'd want me to move on and she'd want someone else to love you the way she did."

"I wouldn't call Ash's mum a mother figure, I mean I still do call her Mrs. Ketchum, but I do like her… a lot. I'm just happy to see you happy. I know Mum would approve. You chose well. They would have definitely been friends."

Meyer smiled bashfully,

"I don't want you to think I forgot about her."

"Trust me Dad, Bon and I don't think that."

"Because I never would, she gave me the most beautiful gift I could ask for, you and your sister."

"Don't be all sappy, I can tell you're trying to tell me something, out with it."

"I… I asked Delia to marry me."

"Really? When?"

"Less than ten hours ago."

"Wow."

"She said yes."

" _Wow._ "

"Once all of this is over, we're getting married and our family is going to get a hell of a lot bigger."

Clemont grinned from ear to ear, unsure of what to say. For so long it had been just the three of them, now Ash would be his actual brother. He really didn't know what to do except smile. Seeing his dad so happy again, and knowing that the person he chose couldn't have loved his family more almost made him want to cry.

Before he could say anything else Bonnie burst in took one look at her father and questioned him,

"Did you just have sex? You have the sex face. Where's Mama Ketchum?"

* * *

"Are you going with Gary?" Bonnie asked after they left their father's work room.

"If Ash does," Clemont resolved, "I mean he will be our step brother eventually, you?"

"You really are dense Clemont," Bonnie smiled, "Since you and Serena are going, I'm going too."

"Serena's going?" Clemont inquired casually, feeling a slight warmth appear on his cheeks, "I didn't know."

"Yup, she said she was talking to Iris last night before all this happened and apparently that was all she needed to know. She trusts Iris and Ash I guess, not that I blame her, those two… well I do too."

"I can understand that feeling, Serena's right I think."

"You would, wouldn't you," Bonnie said with narrowed mischievous eyes.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I think you know, Dad's not the only one with hearts in his eyes, not in this family."

Clemont felt his face going even redder, if she was assuming what he thought she was then…

"Oh hush Bonnie."

"You think I'm some little girl who is absolutely blind, I see the way you look at her. My big bro just might get a girlfriend without the help of his little ole sis."

"I'm not going to respond. It only fuels your imagination."

"Hehe, I don't need your words, your face says it all."

Yeah, it probably did.

* * *

Dawn yawned, still tired from the events of the previous night. She had been so preoccupied the entire day, unable to think of anything else, that she hadn't remembered to eat all day so she was off to the room where food was provided for those living in the headquarters. It was becoming a bad habit of hers, forgetting to eat. Not that it was on purpose but it just sometimes happened, and with all the sudden stress she was under she didn't have much appetite.

She entered the key code and the door slid opened.

There weren't many others in the room, a couple stray G-Men agents who were getting their supper late and a few people she recognized. Misty, May, and Paul also were there, not exactly looking happy. Misty and May's eyes widened when they saw her and waved her over; Paul glanced in her direction then looked away. Typical. Definitely not unexpected.

What was unexpected was that he was sitting with Misty and May. She deduced that the two girls sat with him, not the other way around, and he just didn't see the point in getting up and moving. That sounded about right. How very Paul of him.

She pointed towards the cheap looking buffet table, letting them know she was going to get food. When she took one look at the food they were offering she pulled a face. Still, she reluctantly spooned some soup into a bowl, to be honest she had no idea what kind of soup it was, just that it was thick and lumpy with little to no colour.

Sighing she brought her bowl over to the three others and sat down with them.

"Hey," She said uncertainly, trying to sound positive. It was kind of hard to what with Paul staring at her like that.

"Hi," May greeted back, eyes averting between Paul and Dawn, definitely catching the awkwardness, "I haven't seen you all day."

"Yeah…" Dawn chuckled half-heartedly, "I've been a little… preoccupied _if you know what I mean_."

Misty nodded solemnly, catching her drift.

"I never got the chance to introduce myself, y'know proper like and all," She replied, "I'm Misty, you're Dawn, right?"

Dawn, slightly embarrassed in the presence of Misty, someone she'd been curious about for a long time, smiled.

"Yup! Ash has said a lot about you, it's nice to finally properly meet you."

"Brock, May, and Ash have said a lot about you as well," Misty grinned.

"May!" Dawn whined, "You better not have said anything weird."

The brunette shrugged with a smirk,

"I dunno," She taunted.

Dawn's lips pursed.

"Subject change please," She begged, "No weird stories about me!"

May gave her a pat on the back, then looked at Dawn's untouched plate,

"Make sure that doesn't get cold."

Dawn waved off the question and turned to Paul,

"So Paul," The mauve haired trainer looked up suddenly with cold eyes when his name was spoken, "What are you planning on doing about… what Gary said?"

"Oh, so you know Paul?" Misty questioned.

"Oh! Um, yes!" Dawn stumbled over her words, how embarrassing, "He was Ash's rival back when I was traveling with him and I was a student of his older brother Reggie for the past year or so."

"So you know each other pretty well."

"Hardly," Paul said in a clipped tone, "I was rarely in Veilstone when my brother was teaching her."

Dawn was tempted to snort, but thought better of it.

Misty raised her eyebrow at his reply but turned to Dawn and said,

"We were actually just discussing what we were planning on doing, since we're all fairly high ranking league members it's kind of a tough call."

"Is it really?" Paul argued, "I think it's pretty clear."

"I don't know," May said hesitantly, "On one hand there's the responsibilities we have towards the League, and on the other I feel like Gary might have a point, and if Ash goes… well I feel a sense of loyalty. Then there's my brother, I could hardly separate from him."

"Your brother is a grown person, isn't he legal in your home region? Are you so spineless you can't make decisions on your own and rely on him to make them for you?" Paul scoffed, "Honestly, I can't understand Wallace and his choices sometimes."

"You don't know the first thing about May and her reasoning," Dawn countered angrily, "I'm sorry you don't have a super close relationship with your brother but stop judging May for hers," Paul's eyes flashed but before he could say anything Dawn continued, "You haven't even battled May, if you knew anything about her you'd know how powerful she is. It's not fair for you to trash talk about her, and to her face. Honestly, have you changed at all?"

Paul gave her a serious look,

"Of course not."

Dawn frowned,

"Whatever, I've made my choice, I'm going."

"You sure Dawn?" May asked worriedly.

"Absolutely, let's be honest, does anyone here really take me seriously? Lance wouldn't have kept me around if Ash hadn't made that deal. It's no secret that a lot of Competitive Battlers don't take Coordinators seriously and it's obvious Lance is one of them, I'd be more helpful elsewhere."

"Well Lance is a moron," Paul said simply.

Wow. Talk about mixed signals. One second an ass, the next second saying (admittedly in a rude way) that Lance was underestimating her.

"What about you Misty?" Dawn asked, gesturing towards the redhead.

"I do trust what Lance is doing, don't get me wrong, and I don't exactly trust Gary, but I _do_ trust Ash. I also know that he won't be staying here too long and as previous history has told me, following Ash is generally the way to go. He's one of my closest friends and I'll go wherever he does. I owe it to him."

"How romantic," Paul replied sarcastically.

Misty gave him an unimpressed look, and it looked like it was taking a lot for her not to snap back at him, apparently she didn't have that willpower and casually asked while taking another bite of her food,

"Does your ass ever get jealous of how much shit comes out of your mouth?" Before Paul could even react Misty was already smiling sweetly at May, "So May, what are you going to do?"

"Well…" She began uncertainly, pausing to think, "I haven't sworn into the League yet or had the proper ceremony to become an Elite Four Member so… really I don't have anything but a moral obligation to stay. I want my friends to stick together, so I'll go with you and Dawn."

"Is that your only motivation?" Paul questioned.

May bit her lip,

"I-I guess so."

"That's pathetic; you obviously don't understand what your role is going to be. Are you so insecure in your own judgement?"

Dawn clenched her fist angrily and was about to speak up but May did first.

"I treasure my friends, so sue me," She said flippantly, "What about you? You keep saying the answer is obvious but you haven't said what it is? Could it be you haven't made a decision and are too ashamed to admit it?"

Dawn saw Misty's mouth switch upwards slightly.

"Hardly," Paul said curtly, "I was planning on leaving anyways, with or without Gary's speech."

With that he got up and stalked out of the room.

"Please ignore anything that guy says," Dawn scowled, "He's a grouch and never friendly to anybody."

"Figured," Misty muttered, "He did vouch for Ash in the Champion's meeting though, weird that he shows judgment in that sense but not towards May. May is definitely not someone I'd want to piss off."

"It took a lot for Ash to earn the respect Paul has for him," Dawn admitted, "Pretty much a full year of arguments and rivalry."

Misty snickered,

"Bet Ash loved that, someone disagreeing with him always did put him off."

May chuckled,

"That sounds about right, we had more than our share of tiffs when I travelled with him."

"Guess we better prepare for lots of arguments now that we're going off with him again," Dawn replied, remembering when she and Ash didn't see eye to eye on the rare occasion.

"Naturally," Misty nodded, "Especially since that asshole will be coming along."

Dawn laughed nervously, never sure how to react when it came to Paul,

"Guess so."

* * *

"You're asking me whether you should leave the station I put you in?" Cynthia inquired with a tilt to her head, through the screen of Paul's _Xtransceiver,_ "You never cease to surprise me Paul."

Paul nodded,

"Exactly, I do not approve of the way Lance handles his affairs and as someone who is here on a voluntary basis I see no obligation on my part to stay."

"Mind if I ask why you're asking me?"

"To get your permission."

"You sure it's not so that I can make your decision for you?"

"Yes."

"Because that's kind of what it sounds like me. You realize that if it wasn't for all of this uproar, you'd be Champion two weeks from now, you really don't need my permission to do anything. You'd be practically running Sinnoh."

"You are still required to oversee my work for the first year of my time as Champion."

"To give you advice Paul, not permission. Please don't feel that it's shameful to ask for help, that's sort of what I'm here for."

"Whatever," Paul dismissed her comment and continued, "What exactly is the situation now? How serious is it?"

"The country is in panic," Cynthia stated bluntly, "Kanto and Johto are pretty much in the hands of Team Rocket, Lorelei can't hold her power much longer. The Prime Minister of Kalos is urging her to retreat and go into hiding but she's refused. The G-Men and International Police are doing their best to control the situation… but it seems as if the real priority is to make sure the other regions aren't taken rather than taking back Kanto and Johto."

"And you approve of this?"

"Unova separates Kanto and Sinnoh, at the moment we're willing to take in refugees, but getting them here is near impossible without Unova's support."

"What is Alder thinking?"

"Mew knows," Cynthia sighed, "I've been urging him to help but… it seems like he's paralyzed. He hasn't made any movements. If only the Champions and Prime Ministers would cooperate, then we might have a fighting chance, but I think handing over some man power to Lance was the most any region was willing to do."

"Is… Sinnoh secure?"

"Your brother is fine," The blonde woman replied, knowing what he meant, "He and Maylene are still in Veilstone City. Do you want me to contact him to send me your Pokémon so I can send them to you undetected?"

"Yes, thank you."

"I guess you'll need some specific ones when you leave Mt. Spirit."

"Who told you I had decided?"

"You did, just not verbally."

"I thought apparently I needed your advice or something."

"Well you just got it," Cynthia declared decidedly, which was very like her, "Now which Pokémon will you be needing."

Paul gave it some thought before he said,

"Torterra, Electrive, Weaville, Magmortor, Ninjask, and Gastrodon."

"Good choices, head to a Pokéball Transporter and I'll have them sent to you in the next ten minutes or so."

"Thank you."

"No problem, always a pleasure."

And with that the Champion hung up.

He was about to head off to pick up and exchange Pokémon but when he turned he saw a familiar face,

"Can I help you?"

Dawn jumped slightly, surprised to be caught,

"Was that Cynthia?"

"Do I need to answer that question when you already know the answer?"

"Guess not," Dawn replied uncertainly, "I just came to apologize for getting angry back there, I know it takes a lot for you to respect someone. I'm just protective of May, for various reasons."

"I don't need an apology."

"Oh… ok," She mumbled, "Mind if I head to the Transporter with you? I need to switch out some of my Pokémon.

Paul shrugged, not completely opposed to the idea, even if he would rather be on his own.

"I suppose you won't be exchanging that?" He stated, turning his eyes to the Piplup in her arms.

"No, Piplup sticks with me. And he's not 'that', he's my Pokémon."

"Pip Piplup!" The Water Type agreed haughtily.

He chose to ignore the angry shrimp and instead inquire,

"Which Pokémon are you bringing?"

"Well I already have Piplup, Pachirisu, and Typhlosion. I want to pick up Zorua, Mamoswine, and Lopunny."

"I see."

"Approve of my choices oh great Pokémon Master?" She teased.

"Your choices are not mine to judge."

"Never stopped you before."

Touché.

There was a long silence between them as they walked; finally Dawn broke it asking,

"Everything that's going on… I know it's serious. I've been in serious situations, I'm sure you gathered that after hearing Ash's history but… how bad do you think this is?"

"You want me to speak bluntly."

"Please."

"I think we're all fucked."

**March 14** **th** **, 2015**

**Mt. Spirit, League Hideout**

**2:23am**

Ash placed his hat on his head and grabbed his backpack, tonight he was kind of breaking out of a League Hideout. Something he never really pictured himself doing, but giving his odd history he really should have.

He turned to Brock, who he had just found out was staying behind, he wasn't sure what to say. He couldn't picture one of his oldest and most trusted friends not coming along with him. He felt a weight of unease and sadness in his stomach as he watched Brock. He opened his mouth to speak but no words came out. Instead the older man said,

"Take care of everyone Ash, if anyone can make this group of people get along, it's you. Remember I believe in you, and I'll only be a call away. Clemont set up an Xtransceiver that should stay off the grid, Max and I probably will call you guys a lot, giving you updates and all that or any information you might need."

Ash swallowed hard, and nodded.

Brock stepped closer and rubbed Pikachu beneath the chin, causing the mouse Pokémon to cry out happily,

"And Pikachu, take care of your trainer. He's not always bright, so this entire thing is really up to you."

"Pika pi!"

"So I guess this is goodbye then?" Ash asked.

"For now, yeah. You're late, wouldn't want to miss everyone."

"Guess not."

"Don't worry so much, we've said goodbye so many times. This isn't the last."

"Right!" Ash declared, pumping his fist, "We'll see each other again soon!"

"Deal," Brock smiled, holding out his hand, Ash took it readily.

"Deal."

"Now get going, hero."

"Shut up."

**March 15th, 2015**

**Fuchsia City, Kanto**

**4:45am**

Leaf tapped her foot impatiently, expecting Gary and Ash to show up any minute. To say she was... uncomfortable would be an understatement. Seeing both of them again would be an interesting and definitely awful experience, at least she accepted that. If she was prepared it would make things a whole lot easier and she was about as prepared as she could be.

She wasn't sure if Lance would be gutsy enough to send out G-Men agents to retrieve the two once they were off the Mt. Spirit and in the city. Most likely it would give Team Rocket wind of their hideout so she doubted he would, she just hoped Ash and Gary were quick enough to get off the mountain unnoticed. All these years later and Lance was still a pain in her ass.

Currently Leaf was hiding out in the center of the city, really an awful place to hide, but she was kind of stuck here and slightly surrounded by Team Rocket Grunts. It would be illogical to take them on herself when she could wait for back up, which was coming soon. She kept her eyes peeled as she peered out to the streets of the once peaceful city. The streets were void of citizens, only Rocket's were out, Pokemon by their side, ready to do whatever the hell they needed to to keep control.

As she watched them suddenly an electric current broke through the air, noise piercing her ears, the dozens of Rocket Grunts were instantly in battle positions, prepared to counter strike.

A barrage of attacks quickly followed the Thunder Bolt, Leaf could recognize a Shadow Ball, Flare Blitz, various electric attacks, as well as many others. From the shadows emerged a large group of trainers and their Pokemon. They were fighting off the Team Rocket Grunts. Among them she spotted Ash, fighting with his Pikachu, and Gary as well, his Umbreon.

Leaf groaned, there really brought the whole brigade didn't they?

Deciding not to sit around idly any more she emerged from her hiding spot.

"I need your assistance, Wigglytuff!" She cried out as she released her Pokemon from its ball.

"Tuff!" The pink balloon Pokemon cried out as it appeared.

Leaf saw a smaller blonde girl with a braid commanding her Dedenne to use Thunder, the small Pokemon obeyed at let out a powerful jolt but Leaf noticed behind the girl was a Mightyena, prepared to strike. As quickly as she could Leaf called out,

"Wigglytuff use Giga Impact!"

The Pokemon raced towards the Dark Type, knocking it away with extreme force before it could attack the girl.

"Hey thanks!" She cried out with a bright smile, "You must be Gary's friend, I'm Bonnie, I kinda tagged along."

Leaf looked at her oddly and replied in a curt tone,

"Focus on what's going on."

"Oops," Bonnie laughed, "Dedenne, let's go help out Big Brother before he messes something up!"

The girl ran off and Leaf ordered a few more moves from Wigglytuff before she saw Gary and rushed towards him,

"What the hell is this Gary?" She demanded, then saw a familiar face through the corner of her eye, "What is the Sinnoh Champion doing here?! How many people did you bring?!"

"Hi to you too, sunshine," Gary sighed, "Your welcome for saving your ass, and there's a good few of us here. More the merrier."

"I specifically said you and Ash."

"Well things changed."

Leaf glared at him sharply but didn't respond.

"C'mon let's take care of this, get everyone together, and make a plan," Gary said with a roll of his eyes.

"Fine, I need someone from the inside, some information about Team Rocket."

"I have a feeling Ash might be able to help you out with that."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay new chapter. A lot going on. Had to get some things out of the way, and don't worry, just cause Brock and Max aren't with everyone doesn't mean they won't be in the story.
> 
> I hope I wrote Dawn and Paul alright. Despite my love for ikarishipping I'd never really written them, hope I did their interactions some justice. And yes, you will find out through flashbacks what exactly the relationship between the two is. I know it seems like a lot has already happened with them, and it has, but you guys will get to see it.
> 
> May and Max's issues are also going to be addressed slowly as well as the history between the Pallet Town kids.
> 
> Basically I have a lot of crap to explain.
> 
> Someone PMed me and asked about why Ash and Misty hadn't seen each other in so long so I thought I'd answer here as well for anyone else who was curious. First of all, they've talked on the phone and kept in contact up until now, they just hadn't seen each other in person for a long time. Misty's schedule is hectic and as said in this chapter he was a frontier brain in Sinnoh, they didn't have much chance to meet up. I personally find it super annoying when Ash hasn't kept in touch with his friends in fanfics, he definitely has in this story however. He's up to date with all of his friends' lives and to be honest if it's anyone's fault for Ash not seeing Misty, it's Misty's. She was kind of distant, not intentionally, but she was the one who never could make it to meet him.
> 
> Anyways, thanks for reading! And thank you to everyone who has supported this story.


	8. Fatal Wounds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes being front row isn't the best seat in the house.

**March 15** **th** **, 2015**

**Route 15, Kanto**

**8:23am**

It had taken them a while to get out of Fuchsia City, Drew was exhausted. He hadn't quite realized how much of a problem Team Rocket could be; well he had had an idea, but now he knew first hand. It was a real pain in his ass. Still, with the team of people they had it was hardly a difficult task, just annoying that there seemed to be an endless amount of grunts. Despite Drew's dislike, maybe that wasn't the right word - distaste for most of the group, he would admit that they were sort of a tank. They had some seriously talented trainers with them. He was shocked by May's battling, not that he was watching her, he just happened to notice. Wallace had made the right choice in making her an Elite Four Member.

He really wasn't sure what to make of Gary's apparent, 'informant'. She hadn't said anything except a few barked orders, which pissed him off, but he ignored it for the most part. Gary hadn't elaborated much about her; in fact, Drew didn't even know her name. He did know that she knew Ash however, that was obvious when the two first saw each other. Definitely an awkward relationship though, he didn't know Ash knew people who he was uncomfortable around. That kid always seemed to be fine with everyone even if the feeling wasn't mutual.

One thing he was able to tell about this girl was that she was strong, he hated admitting things like that, but she could probably battle him and win. He didn't know what the girl did, or how she got so skilled but he knew she wasn't someone to cross. She was obviously powerful and just one look at her Pokemon told him they were the same

They had been walking for almost an hour and Drew was getting fed up, not being informed was not something he was looking forward to, if this was going to keep up… he was out.

"OK," Bonnie groaned, speaking up before Drew could, "Is someone going to explain what the hell we're doing. Seriously, just walking and nothing else is stupid. Plus my brother looks like he could use a break."

The younger girl was right, her spectacle clad brother looked absolutely exhausted, and probably from the huge ass bag he was carrying. He was mumbling something, half to himself, about 'slowing down'.

"I'm with Bonnie on this one," Misty agreed, "Gary, at least tell us what's going on. We're far enough from the city and deep enough in the woods; we can take a break, regroup, and plan."

Gary nodded; his informant did not seem pleased that he was making decisions without consulting her. She was really rubbing Drew the wrong way.

"Finally," Drew grumbled to himself when they found a place to sit. When he spoke he heard a slight chuckle come from behind him, he averted his eyes slightly and saw May in his peripheral vision.

"Mind if I sit?" She inquired in her usual sweet and innocent voice. Drew simply shrugged in response, apparently still not completely comfortable around her the way he used to be. She took that as an invitation and sat against the tree next to him, "Busy day, huh?"

"That's an understatement," He replied, letting out a huff of half-hearted laughter.

"I'm surprised you came with us."

"And why is that?"

"Because you don't know anyone here. What's in it for you?"

"You still think so little in me, not everything I do has the motivation of self-profit behind it. Besides I know people here."

"Oh, Dawn. Forgot. I always forget you two are friends."

She really was dense, wasn't she?

"Dawn…" He trailed off, "And you."

May looked down at her knees, which were currently being held tightly to her chest,

"…Yeah."

There was a really awkward silence between the two, which was his queue to change the topic. Besides, now was hardly the time to be weird and try and bond with her. Why he was even trying, he had no idea.

"Are those two going to keep arguing or are we going to make a plan," Drew asked bitterly, watching Gary and his informant going back and forth, obviously not pleased with each other, but still keeping their arrogant demeanor intact.

"I really hope so," May replied, equally miffed, "Y'know Gary really reminds me of how you were when I first met you. Such an ass."

"Part of my charm," He said half mindedly, a little more focused on observing the situation unfolding.

Thankfully Misty had had enough and cut in bluntly,

"If you two are going to fight like children, do it in your own time and get a room. We're kind of still here."

"That's rich coming from you Waterflower," Gary sneered, "I seem to recall you being just as petty with Ash."

"You know I can easily beat your ass you little bookworm."

"Fair enough," He answered, raising his hands in defeat and praise Arceus, Gary started explaining things, "First of all, this bitch here is Leaf," He stated bluntly, only confirming Drew's opinion of the girl, "She's a former G-Men Agent, or 'on leave' as Lance says. Care to share something about yourself?"

Leaf glared at him, obviously not about to comply.

"Fine, I'll tell you. She's Red's twin sister, yeah Red, the kid who beat Lance and is currently taking over the region with Team Rocket. And she's a seriously rude person; do not be intimidated by her sense of superiority, she sucks."

Each of the people present introduced themselves, or were introduced by others when others refused. Ash, as Drew suspected, did not make a self-introduction. He and Leaf did know each other. If his memory served him right Red was from Pallet Town, meaning Leaf was as well, that was probably the connection.

"I'm curious about our destination, or goal," Cilan spoke up, "It seems as though we've been wandering around in these woods without purpose."

"Yeah," Iris sighed, "I want a bit more information about the state of things here as well. Everything has been vague and I'm ready for someone to give it to me straight."

She basically just read Drew's mind.

This time Paul cut in,

"I spoke with Cynthia before leaving and she gave me some information on the status of the other regions. Sinnoh wants to take in refugees but can't as Unova stands between Kanto and Sinnoh and Alder hasn't taken any actions. At this point other regions aren't trying to help Kanto and Johto, just self-preservation. These regions are screwed anyways, Gym Leaders are being captured and cities taken over."

"Alder isn't doing anything?" Iris asked with a concerned voice, "That doesn't sound like him."

"You spoke to the Champion before leaving?" Leaf demanded incredulously, eyes blazing in Paul's direction, ignoring Iris, "Does she know you were going to escape?!"

"I suggest you watch yourself, I rank higher than you in case you didn't know. Yes, Cynthia knows I left Lance's hideout, nothing else. Besides, she hates Lance, she doesn't care nor will she tell him anything."

"Still, we are trying to keep a low profile," Leaf insisted, "This region is hostile territory and I don't need any leaks."

Paul gave her a long, unimpressed, and agitated stare but didn't reply. Drew had a feeling that Paul didn't think her worthy of a response.

"So what are we going to do about it?" Serena asked, "It's pointless to argue if we don't even have a plan."

Everyone saw the logic in what the girl said and settled down.

"Leaf," Gary said, "You mentioned needing some inside information on Team Rocket earlier right?"

She nodded curtly,

"That is correct; we need to know what their plans are beyond what's already occurred. What's happening now is only the tip of the iceburg."

"I think I might be able to help with that," Ash spoke up. Leaf seemed surprised, but Drew wasn't in the least. After hearing the insane things that kid had experienced he wasn't surprised he had inside information on major gangs. "You see, when I was travelling, for the first five years I had these three Team Rocket Agents on my back almost daily. They might be useful."

Oh them. Those idiots. Drew vaguely remembered running into them almost every time he saw May when she traveled with Ash.

"They were hardly bright though, Ash, I don't know how much help they'd be," Misty pointed out.

"Maybe not when you were travelling with them," Iris replied, "But they did some serious damage in Unova. They were working directly with the Leader of Team Rocket."

Cilan nodded,

"They were not a force to be underestimated."

"Anyways," Ash continued, "After I went back to Sinnoh as a Frontier Brain, they stopped hanging around. I'm not sure where they are now, but if we could somehow get in contact with them, they might know stuff."

"Chu!" Pikachu affirmed.

"We're going to trust Rocket Agents?" Paul asked skeptically.

"They weren't too bad; they saved my life and helped me out sometimes. They were never as bad as Team Plasma, Galactic, or even other Rockets."

"I think it's worth a shot," Dawn replied, her Piplup also voicing its opinion.

"Any idea where they are now?" Paul sighed, apparently giving in.

"No, I was wondering if Leaf or Clemont could figure that out," Ash admitted, "Got information or an invention or something?"

"If you give me their names I could check the G-Men database," Leaf replied, pulling out a small laptop from her bag and typed in a few lines of code, "Names?"

"Oh, um… Jessie and James."

"Gonna need more than that."

"James was from a wealthy family in Kanto," Misty thought carefully, "I think his last name was Abbot."

Leaf typed and turned the screen around,

"Is this him?"

"Yeah, that's him,"

"His location is currently unknown. So is Jessica Bennet, the other woman you mentioned, her information is here too. If the G-Men don't know, I doubt we can find them."

Everyone seemed dejected, back to square one apparently.

"The future is now, thanks to SCIENCE!" A voice called out from behind Drew, he turned and saw Clemont standing proudly, pushing up his glasses.

Bonnie groaned, and Serena laughed uncomfortably. Drew raised an eyebrow, judging by Clemont's friends' reactions he did this often.

"Clemontic Gear, ON! I anticipated that we'd run into a situation like this so I created this invention," Out from his backpack he pulled out a large, gaudy machine with various antennas attached to it, "I present you 'The Find Someone Who Doesn't Want to be Found Device!' It analyzes and hacks into security cameras all across the country and detects the person you're looking for!"

"Wow! Science is so amazing!" Ash marvelled. Drew had to admit, if the thing worked, then it was pretty amazing.

"Your names still suck," Bonnie muttered.

"Leaf, if you could send me the photos of the two in question, I can scan the cameras for facial recognition."

The girl nodded.

Drew watched in anticipation as Clemont tinkered with them machine, it began scanning through security videos rapid fire. The machine began smoking; he noticed Ash, Serena, and Bonnie bracing themselves.

Crap, was it going to blow up?

Clemont quickly messed with some wires and the smoked stopped, everyone let out a breath of relief.

"Found them!" The blonde boy cried out, "They were both last seen in Floccesy Town, Unova yesterday morning."

"That's just past the Northern Kanto border," Drew thought out loud, "If we're somehow able to head straight north instead of taking the main roads, we'll be able to be there in about five or so days."

"I don't think so," Leaf disagreed, "If we go straight north we'll have to go through too many large cities, Vermillion City, Saffron City, and Cerulean City."

"Would you rather take the long route and watch Team Rocket take over?"

"Would you like to get captured? Or killed?" Leaf countered.

Drew frowned,

"If we go north we'll have to cross through Kanto's central lake, and we'll be able to go around Vermillion City almost completely if we get off at the right shoreline."

"And I know Cerulean City like the back of my hand; I can get us through the city easily," Misty piped up, "No way Team Rocket knows my hometown better than me."

"Yeah, go Misty!" Ash cried, "Come on, we can do this Leaf. If we can get information from Jessie and James we can find out what Team Rocket's planning."

"I agree," Cilan agreed, "And while we're travelling we can take care of any issues we come across. This sounds like an agreeable recipe to me, and we may find some unexpected flavours along the way."

"Translation please," Drew groaned, not in the mood for metaphors.

"He means we might encounter more information about Team Rocket and be able to help along the way," Iris smiled weakly, understanding Drew's annoyance, "Sorry, he needs to learn that not all of us want to interpret everything he says."

Cilan pursed his lips at this, but didn't say anything.

"Leafy?" Gary began in a condescending tone, "Do you see the logic in this plan of action, or are we going to separate so soon. Please don't break an old friend's fragile heart."

"Fine," The girl snapped, securing her hat on her head and stomping off in their designated direction.

"She always like that?" Drew asked the researcher, feeling slightly repulsed.

"Oh hell, you have no idea," Gary smirked.

"Perfect."

**March 15** **th** **, 2015**

**Mt. Spirit, League Hideout**

**11:23am**

Lance was fuming; he hadn't felt this angry in a long time. It nearly rivaled the anger he'd felt four years ago when _it_ had happened.

"Lance, I'm going to urge you to calm down," Diantha said calmly through the screen, she was one of the other four Champions Lance was currently on a conference call with, "I understand your anger, but now is not the time to be so hasty."

"So I should follow Alder's example and do nothing?" Lance questioned, still keeping a stern and controlled expression on his face.

"Hey, hey, I have my reasons," The Unova Champion defended, not taking the situation seriously enough as usual.

"I think our main problem here is a lack of communication," Diantha insisted, "If you all didn't hide so much from each other and explained your, 'reasons' more often, then we might get a lot more done."

"I'll second that," Wallace piped up, "If we could all just cooperate with each other and the Prime Ministers… Hoenn's Steven Stone is more than happy to communicate with you all, but apparently we all insist on keeping secrets."

"You mean how Cynthia knew that they were planning to leave but chose to say nothing until it was too late?" Lance challenged, then addressed the blonde woman, "You are irresponsible. How you let something like this happen under your watch is ludicrous."

The woman replied with a cool expression and tone,

"If I recall correctly, he was under your watch as well. Besides, he never said he was taking a dozen others with him. You've met Paul; does he strike you as someone who travels in a pack?" Lance couldn't argue with that, "And as the future Sinnoh Champion he did not trust you or your judgment, I was not about to force him to stay."

"You poisoned his head with your bad opinion of me," He accused.

"I didn't have to. My successor is just smart and can see through bullshit. Remember in the future that Paul Dunham doesn't like being uninformed, as I don't."

"You need to be more in control of those in your employ. That goes for all of you."

"Yourself included?" Wallace asked in a voice veiled with hidden meanings. Meanings from the past Lance would rather not be brought to light again.

"Tread carefully Wallace, don't pry into things you don't understand," Lance warned.

"I think I understand well enough," He replied, "We all do."

"You aren't fit to make decisions;" Cynthia said solemnly, "This entire situation is of a personal matter to you. You realize that when you sent the Oak child after Agent Talbott you opened the door for them to betray you. And for what, so you could get back your former apprentice who hates you? What's happened to your logic Lance? I always said you needed to be more human, but to the point of stupidity? I'd take your cold attitude any day."

"I will not have you questioning the choices I make; can we focus on the matter at hand?"

"What else is there to say?" Alder asked, "Ash and his friends are gone, you'll survive without them."

"Ash Ketchum is a very... special trainer." He couldn't reveal the real reason why the boy was so important and crucial, not yet, and not to them.

"So you've stated, you've never said why," Alder frowned, "The boy has promise, he always did, he's talented. I don't see how that sets him apart from your Elite Four or other strong trainers you can use."

"He will play an important role in my plan."

"Then explain."

"That is classified."

Wallace sighed,

"If this is all you're going to talk about, I really don't see the point in continuing this."

"I agree," Cynthia nodded, "But know this Lance, you are in the wrong on this one, and we all know it."

With that she cut off the feed, Alder and Wallace followed in suit leaving only Diantha.

"Lance…" She began, eyes closed, expression stern but sympathetic, "Please think about what everyone has said."

"You would be on their side, wouldn't you?"

"I've known you a long time… but we're in completely different positions than before. I can't always be the little girl who followed you without question. I have to do what's best for my region and right now, that isn't you."

Then the screen went black.

And so did Lance's thoughts.

**March 15** **th** **, 2015**

**Lake Kanto headed to Vermillion City**

**3:58pm**

Once the group had reached the lake where they'd be cutting straight through to the northern part of Vermillion City their first objective had been to find a boat. That idea was quickly scratched as no one in the damn world found a stray boat in the middle of a forest. Misty just suggested that they ride their water or flying types, it would be a long ride, but it was doable.

Everyone had agreed, it was the most logical idea if Misty did say so herself. Ash was riding his Charizard with Serena, May was on her Altaria, Drew and Dawn on his Flygon, Iris and Cilan on her Dragonite, Paul joined Gary on the researcher's Blastoise, and Bonnie and Leaf were with Misty on her Gyarados.

She wouldn't lie, it was a little awkward. She didn't know either of them, Bonnie was sweet, but Leaf was a little… off. Anyone Ash was unsure around Misty didn't trust. That kid was like a Lillipup, blindly trusting everyone and licking their facing (not literally, at least she hoped not). She also happened to be the twin sister of one of the primary antagonists in this whole deal, since Leaf hadn't said anything about that Misty didn't trust where the girl stood on her brother's… choices.

That was why she decided that silence and focusing on the lake breeze was a much better idea. She may or may not have been listening to various conversations around her. She could hear Iris and Cilan whispering to each other, the younger girl seemed a little miffed and the tall man was just trying to appease her. Paul was silent (real surprise there) and Gary was as well which was sort of surprising). She could see May and Drew sneaking glances at each other, but never at the same time. Hella awkward vibes, Dawn seemed to pick up on this and was just watching them with a look of frustration. Misty didn't know what was the deal there but she sure as hell wanted to know, just not get involved. She made a mental note to herself to ask Dawn later. Ash was oddly silent but characteristically determined, Serena watching him curious.

She wouldn't lie, Misty didn't know whether Serena liked her or not. They'd kind of talked… sort of… there was just this underlying weirdness and the other girl didn't seem quite genuine, more reserved. It was kind of disappointing because she seemed so nice around everyone else, Misty must have been doing something to make her uncomfortable. She casually wondered if it had anything to do with Ash, but shook that thought out of her head. No, she was not about to be that immature. Way too 'preteen', besides Serena did not seem like the type to be petty over a boy.

Plus Misty didn't even like Ash like that… at least that was what she had been trying to convince herself of for the past eight years.

Arceus, she was pathetic.

"So Leaf," Bonnie started conversation as they whizzed across the lake, "You were a G-Men Agent before all this?"

The curt girl nodded reluctantly.

"Does that mean that you and Misty know each other? She's an Elite Four y'know."

"I became an Elite Four three years ago, Leaf had gone rouge the year previous," Misty explained, "I did here talk of her however, she was quite famous among the G-Men."

She could see the girl in question stiffen.

"That's too bad," Bonnie sighed as she patted her Dedenne's sleeping head, "You guys are so cool, I wish I was as strong as you."

Misty smiled slightly,

"Well maybe when this is all over we can have a battle, I'm sure you're plenty strong. What was it you do?"

Bonnie blushed,

"I've been trying a few different things; nothing's really resonated with me yet. I was taking a break when all this happened. I'd love to battle both of you!"

Leaf's expression was uncomfortable but she attempted a smile. It was a sad attempt, Misty remarked to herself.

"It's OK not to know what you want," Misty assured her, "When I was your age I was super confused, even if I was a Gym Leader. Plus being the youngest sibling is tough, you have to live up to your older siblings."

"That's a relief, nothing seems to want to click with me. And I totally understand the youngest sibling thing, I love Clemont but it's kind of hard to do anything remotely interesting, not when he's a child genius and a Gym Leader." The younger girl laughed, but Misty could see the slight discourage in her eyes.

"No worries, you have your own skill set and so much time to develop it. Siblings that seem to be better at everything than you are hard to deal with, but you just have to find your own thing. I did," As Misty spoke she noticed Leaf's expression twitch, maybe she was thinking about her own brother. To be honest Misty thanked Mew every day that she wasn't a twin, that was the ultimate comparison.

"So Leaf, how'd you meet Ash and Gary?" Bonnie grinned, changing the subject.

Leaf visibly winced,

"Um… we go back quite a bit."

"I imagine so," Misty remarked pointedly, narrowing her eyes, at this response Leaf's own dull eyes imitated the action.

"Look here Waterflower," The brunette sighed, "I have a lot of respect for you, I've seen the way you battle and the kind of person you are, it would be wise if we weren't at odds, I don't want to be at odds. From what I can tell any person who poses a threat to Ash Ketchum, whether it be physical or emotional, you have no intention of making nice with."

"I think that's fair to say about a lot of the people here," Misty muttered, her cheeks slightly red. Thankfully Bonnie nodded in agreement.

"But for some reason, you especially," Leaf continued, "Let me make it clear that what happened in the past has nothing to do with Ash, he was simply caught in crossfire, it was unavoidable. Although I don't intend to be chummy with him anytime soon, I bare him no ill will and have faith in his abilities. I keep my distance for not only my sake, but his as well."

Misty paused a moment to consider this then asked seriously,

"What about Red?"

"Team Rocket must be stopped," was all she said in response. A clever evasion of Misty's question, but she decided to overlook it for now.

"Fine," She conceded finally, "Allies."

Leaf cracked a sideways smile,

"Good."

"Me too!" Bonnie sang out hand in the air.

Misty laughed; even Leaf couldn't hold back an amused expression.

**March 15** **th** **, 2015**

**Vermillion City**

**7:13pm**

When they reached the docks it was sunset, the water was painted a warm orange and pink just like the sky above it. Ash and his friends carefully returned their Pokémon a safe distance away from the shore and began to wade in quietly, splitting up into smaller groups to avoid attention. They planned on meeting at the edge of town leading towards Route 6.

Ash was currently with Paul, Cilan, and Misty; they were currently approaching the north east side of the city, planning to cut through the forest and towards their destination as to minimize time. Leaf, Paul, and May had decided that they'd lead a group and approach different sides of the city. Leaf, Bonnie, Clemont and Drew were headed for the southern docks, and May, Dawn, Iris, and Serena were headed in from the west.

When they reached land Misty spoke up,

"We should head for the forest as quickly as possible; we should be able to take cover there fairly quickly. According to Leaf, the City is overrun with Grunts and there could possibly be a Team Rocket Admin here. Word is Cerulean and Saffron have been taken and he's most likely to be here now. We have to be smart about this."

"Yeah, that's great Mist, but consider this," Ash prefaced.

The redhead braced herself for his idea, an exasperated look on her face,

"Alright, out with it."

"We could go through center of the city, and see what's going on."

Ash heard Paul sniff disbelievingly behind him,

"You really haven't changed at all. We aren't exactly able to blend in."

"Why not?"

"Well for one, we aren't Rocket Grunts and it's like hunting season out there. Second, we'd be their first targets, they'd have a field day with the to-be Sinnoh Champion, a Kanto Elite Four, a Unova Gym Leader, and the kid who could potentially put that Red out of a job."

"Fair point…" Ash argued, "I just want to do something. We aren't doing anything!"

"Pika!" The tiny mouse Pokémon agreed from the ground.

"I get it Ash, I really do," Cilan assured him, "But by keeping ourselves safe, we are doing something. We have to get to Unova, that's our lead."

Ash looked at Misty, desperate for someone else to back him up. Unfortunately she looked down guiltily,

"Cilan's right, so is Paul," She sighed, "Let's just get going with as little fuss as possible. We're all tired and we need to get to Route 6 before nightfall so we can set up camp."

So Ash shut up, reluctantly of course, and they traversed through the forest, endless trees, until Pikachu heard something.

"Pi?" It said as its ears twitched as if hearing something the other couldn't.

"What is it Buddy?" Ash inquired, the others stopped to look.

"Pika pi!" It cried out loudly before dashing off in a completely different direction.

"Pikachu!" Ash called, as he ran to catch up with the electric type.

"Ash, wait!" Misty cried as she and Cilan followed.

"For fuck's sake." Paul muttered.

* * *

To make a long story short, Pikachu had led them through the city.

"Where are all the people?" Cilan gasped as he ran along with them.

Good point. Ash wasn't always smart but he did know this, cities had people, and so far they'd seen none, past none, and heard none.

"They could be hiding in their houses," Misty replied, not at all out of breath from the extensive running, "A dictatorship has basically taken over their city."

"Except for the lack of dictators," Paul pointed out, "I don't see any Rockets."

"What is up with this?" Ash mumbled, half to himself, keeping his eyes on his starter Pokémon.

After another five to ten minutes of running they began to hear something, a quiet murmur of a crowd and one clearer voice. Pikachu stopped.

The group halted along with it.

"If you have a hat or hood, put it on now," Leaf warned quietly, flipping up the collar of her coat and adjusting her hat.

Ash pulled up his hood as he made his way through the large crowd of people.

"Ash!" Misty hissed, "Get back here!"

He ignored to them as he pushed through the people in the crowd and followed the electronically projected voice.

 _"Let this be a warning to you all,"_ It boomed, _"Those who oppose Team Rocket's Order will be severely dealt with."_

Ash gasped when he came to the front of the crowd and saw what Pikachu had been fussing about. A man wearing a Team Rocket Admin uniform, his hair was a medium cool purple. His sneer was unsettling and he was thin and slouched over. He was standing over someone Ash did recognize.

"Lt. Surge…" He breathed out in horror.

The war veteran was tied up, hands behind his back, face on the cobblestone ground; he was battered, bruised, and bloody. His Raichu was next to him in an equally heartbreaking state. Ash could feel his hands shaking; Pikachu clung to his leg, distressed.

 _"Well Lieutenant? Any last words?"_ The man mocked as he held up the microphone to the other man's face.

Ash watched, frozen in place as he watched the Gym Leader cough up saliva and blood,

 _"D-Don't let this—"_ He paused to hack up more before continuing, _"Don't let it stop you from… fighting… The League… will prevail…"_

"Ahaa!" The Rocket Admin cackled, "A brave an honorable soldier to the end aren't you, rather sweet I think, but your time is up about now. Raticate, Use Hyper Fang!"

Out of a Pokéball came out a large Raticate, Ash then realized what was about to happen.

He tried to dash in but was pulled back, he swiveled violently to see who it was,

"Don't," Was all Paul said, and it was enough for Ash to miss his chance he watched the Raticate's fang make contact with the man's throat and clamp down hard. Blood spurted out mercilessly and Lt. Surge cried out in pain as he bled out on the street.

"No!" Ash yelled out.

"Raai!" His Raichu called out desperately, unable to do anything to save his trainer.

_"I suppose I should shut up this rodent, shouldn't I?"_

The Rocket Admin pulled out a handgun and without a moment's hesitation pulled the trigger, bullet going straight through the Pokémon's head, murdering it instantly.

Ash could see the tears in Lt. Surge's eyes as he watched his Pokémon die in front of him, as the tears spilled over, the life in the man's eyes left him. Even after death, bloody still poured, staining the spot the man lay, all colour was gone from his face.

He was dead.

And Ash couldn't do anything about it.

"Come on," Paul said solemnly as he dragged Ash away and he didn't have the strength to fight it. The crowd was going crazy with anger, he vaugely saw Rocket Grunts begin to attack the citizens in the streets. He met Misty's eyes, she was crying.

* * *

He'd kept silent until they were out of Vermillion City and at their meeting point. Everyone else was there, unaware of what had transpired it seemed.

When Ash finally regained a sense of himself and processed what had just happened, he wrenched his arm away from Paul violently.

"Arceus!" Dawn gasped as she rushed towards the two of them, "What's going on?"

"What the fuck was that?!" Ash shouted, tears escaping his eyes, "I could have and you stopped me, I could have… I could have…"

Paul stared at him levelly,

"Could have what?"

"He… he… he's dead… and he didn't have to be!"

"You didn't have to be dead either," Paul replied.

He could feel anger boiling in his stomach, he wanted to hit the man in from of him so badly but didn't when he felt someone else behind him.

"Ash…" Misty said clutching his sleeve slightly, blue-green eyes pleading, "Please don't do this. Not now. I can't handle it. Be angry tomorrow, but we need to set up camp and deal with this… I want to punch Paul in the face too, but... not now."

So he gave up. He sent one more glare at Paul before slouching his body in defeat and mumbling.

"I'll look for some firewood."

"I'll come with you."

"No."

"Yes. You shouldn't be alone after all this, and I don't want to be alone either."

He looked his best friend in the eyes and softened,

"Alright…"

* * *

After Ash and Misty had left everyone silently began setting up camp, not acknowledging what had just happened. There was a sinking, uneasy feeling in Bonnie's stomach but she couldn't bring herself to ask Leaf or Cilan what had gone on. Cilan looked terrified, in complete shock. Dawn and Iris were talking with him silently and Bonnie didn't want to interrupt them, it seemed awkward of her to.

Leaf was focused on getting everyone in order, trying to keep people working and not focusing on what had just transpired. Bonnie didn't think bothering her would be helpful, plus Leaf was pretty cool and she didn't want to pry if it was something she didn't want to talk about just yet.

Paul on the other hand. She'd deemed him fair game, she didn't like him one bit and he didn't seem one bit sorry for what he did to Ash.

"Hey you!" She called out, hopefully coming off as accusatory, "I need to talk to you."

The purple haired man looked at her with dull eyes, she instantly felt a little intimidated. No. She refused to be deterred; even more determined she stomped over him.

"What happened back there?" She demanded, looking up at his much taller frame, she was fairly sure that he was even older than Ash.

"Don't you have anyone else to bother about this?" He muttered, clearly annoyed.

"No sir, I don't. You're the one who upset Ash, explain yourself."

"Ash upset himself."

"You are the worst, too cowardly to admit you're wrong."

"I don't recall you being there," He said coolly, "How old are you? Ten? Don't stick your nose into adult business."

Bonnie huffed angrily and crossed her arms,

"I'll have you know I'm thirteen."

Paul grunted, apparently unimpressed by this, and went back to laying out his sleeping gear.

"I don't appreciate being ignored."

"Then you'd yourself a favour by not talking to me," He replied.

Refusing to give up she gave him a little shove, probably a little too bold, but she did it without thinking,

"What did you do?" She repeated, more serious this time.

Paul looked at her with dark, angry eyes, Bonnie was suddenly scared,

"Saved his damn life, you're fucking welcome."

Bonnie had half a mind of getting Dedenne to use Nuzzle on him, give him a little payback, but before she could even consider it Leaf approached the two of them.

"Something wrong here?" She questioned pointedly.

Paul didn't respond so Bonnie rolled her eyes and shook her head.

"Alright, well I need you two to join us at the fire or something, Ash and Misty are back and we've got some information from whoever you left back at the Mt. Spirit Hideout."

Bonnie turned to see that Ash and Misty were back, they seemed much more calm, still affected, but she knew Ash, he would be fine. So would Misty. She hadn't noticed the two return, too busy confronting the idiot behind her.

"Sounds good," Bonnie said, forcing a smile and following the former G-Men agent to the fire.

She took a seat next to Clemont, his other side, Serena was on her older brother's one side and Bonnie sure didn't want to mess that up. Sure everything was going to hell, but she was getting her brother hitched before everything was over. It was her duty as a little sister.

"Hi Clemont," She said quietly, then noticed a familiar face on the screen of the Xtransceiver he was holding, "Hi May's brother!"

The boy adjusted his glasses as sighed,

"It's Max."

"Oh, whatever."

"Is everyone here?"

Clemont responded this time,

"Yes, you're on loud and clear, everyone can hear you. Hopefully you can hear everyone too."

"Great," The boy replied, "I have a few things to report."

"Can you first explain the execution of Vermillion City Gym Leader Lt. Surge," Leaf spoke up with authority.

Bonnie was shocked, she saw Ash flinch and Cilan's eyes head straight for the ground.

"Yes…" Max replied with a sad tinge to his voice, "The execution was aired on Regional Television, everyone's seen it. Other regions are reporting on it now."

"So Petral is going around murdering Gym Leaders or anyone in a position in the League."

"Correct, there are Team Rocket Admins making their way around Kanto and Johto and if Leaders refuse to comply to their demands, they are taken."

"Are you OK Max?" May asked worriedly, Bonnie recalled that her brother had just become a Gym Leader, "You're keeping yourself safe?"

"Don't worry about me."

"What are the statuses of the other Gym Leaders?" Misty inquired, also nervous, "Is Daisy alright?"

"Cerulean City is taken over, but the Gym Leader Daisy Waterflower was not found."

"Thank Arceus she's still in Sinnoh with Tracey," She breathed out in relief.

"No other Gym Leader has been killed yet, this seems to be their first warning. Vermillion City is in shambles, any groups who resists the Order are poisoned by Smog attacks. This is looking pretty bad, they aren't messing around. I checked on other cities and there have been some so far that have been either captured or have joined with Team Rocket."

"Who's joined?"

"Sabrina of Saffron City is confirmed, other's I'm not sure of. She's got Saffron City captive about now."

Leaf sneered,

"Never liked her."

"I don't know her motivations; perhaps it's to protect her City and her Pokémon. To be honest, I understand in a way."

Iris looked appalled,

"Are you serious?"

"Would you join say, Team Plasma, if it meant the safety of yourself, your family, the citizens of your city, and your Pokémon. Don't pretend it wouldn't be tempting."

Iris frowned but didn't argue.

"Anything else to report?" Clemont said rubbing his eyes under his glasses.

"Not yet. I have to go, I'm going to get caught if I spend too much time on here, good luck."

And the screen went black.

Nobody knew what to say.

They sat in silence, the crackling of the fire the only noise between them.

Killing Gym Leaders? This was insane. Bonnie was scared, but her fear only fueled her anger. She wanted to help, but what was she supposed to do? She didn't even have a proper profession as a trainer, she couldn't even help herself, how was she supposed to help others.

Clutching Dedenne closer to her she bit her lip anxiously.

"Was that why you were upset Ash?" Serena asked quietly, breaking the stiff silence.

Ash swallowed hard,

"I saw it happen. I could have saved him."

"No," Cilan said shakily, "You would have been shot on the spot, and so would Pikachu. Paul made… the right call. You can't blame yourself."

"So what do we do now?" Serena wondered. 

No one answered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been a while. Hope you're all doing well and all that jazz.
> 
> Let me know if you have any questions regarding this story, I'm happy to answer.
> 
> Don't really know what else to say... have a great weekend!


	9. Murder in Saffron

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> May receives some news, Georgia has eyes on an old enemy and the group gets a warning.

_**Chapter: Seeing Red** _

_**January 12th 2009** _

_**Blue Point Isle, Grand Festival Location, Johto** _

_Drew let out a sigh on both relief and pride as he watched the television screen avidly. He was in. Froslass's Powder Snow/Shadow Ball combination had the effect that he'd wanted. The judges had loved it and he was in the top five rated appeals, Solidad one place behind him._

_He smiled slightly, May stood in a promising tenth place with Harley hot on her tail. He'd been really impressed by her Blaziken's performance. Honestly it had scared him slightly how well executed it was, but he had faith in his Pokémon as well as his own ability. Drew had learned since the Kanto Grand Festival the previous year not to be so hyper concerned with others, it only screwed with his own performance and mental state._

_"You did well Drew," A voice said warmly from behind him, he turned to see Solidad. She was smiling._

_"Thanks," He muttered, slightly embarrassed, "You did too."_

_"Well aren't you feeling generous today, is that because you're a place ahead of me for the first time?"_

_"That might have something to do with it," Drew replied wryly. It honestly was the first time he'd been ahead of Solidad in anything they'd done up to this point so he'd be an idiot not to be somewhat thrilled._

_Solidad laughed musically,_

_"Have you seen May? She did really well; I kind of figured she'd be with you."_

_"Not yet."_

_"Maybe I'm just being a meddlesome old woman but I think you should go congratulate her, I'm sure you have a rose hidden somewhere on you."_

_Drew could feel his cheeks grow hot, he was suddenly glad that Roselia was in her Pokéball, he didn't need to be ganged up on this subject. Solidad and Roselia were by far the biggest teasers he had in his life when it came to his female rival. They even beat out Harley and his own mother._

_"You're eighteen years old; I'd hardly call you old."_

_"Avoiding the subject, are you?" Solidad chuckled, her eyes flashing knowingly._

_"Yes," He deadpanned._

_"Ah young love, it's so sweet and so innocent."_

_"You're hardly that much older than me," Drew said with a roll of his eyes, "I've got to go, I have to call home."_

_"Tell Thea I say hi," The pink haired woman answered, "Oh, I'll try my best to keep Harley busy so you can talk to May without interruptions."_

_"I'm going to ignore that comment," Drew groaned as he headed out of the building, but he was secretly grateful, "See you later."_

* * *

_Drew turned the key in the lock and opened the door to his hotel room. He tossed his bag onto the bed and sat on the desk where the computer and phone were located._

_He picked up the phone and turned the screen on; he quickly dialed a number and listened to the rings as he waited for someone to pick up._

_A face then appeared on the screen, he recognized his mother. She looked the same as when he had last called, dark green hair slightly matted, dark circles plagued her nearly lifeless brown eyes, and her face was sunken in. Honestly she looked like a shell of a person or a ghost and even though he was accustomed to her appearance it still filled him with worry._

_"Hey Mum," He greeted, voice a little softer than it normally would be, "How's Unova?"_

_The woman smiled a hollow smile that stretched at her pale skin,_

_"That doesn't matter Andrew, I just watched your appeal. It was beautiful, but then again everything you do is."_

_A slight bit of pride surged through his chest. She'd watched._

_"I'm glad you saw it."_

_"I wouldn't miss watching my baby boy for anything."_

_"Are you taking care of yourself?" He asked. Thea confirmed that she was but judging by the hesitation she wasn't being truthful, "I'm serious Mum, are you eating?"_

_"Mostly."_

_"If you can't take care of yourself you should just come home, I can take a year off and stay with you. Dammit, I knew that you couldn't handle traveling alone."_

_Really he shouldn't have been so surprised; growing up his mother never had much regard for her own health. She took good care of Drew no matter what the circumstances, even if she was unemployed and going to lose their current apartment. He never felt like she didn't take care of him, but she never gave any attention to herself and it was one of his biggest sources of fear._

_As a child he didn't understand but he did now, his mother was severely depressed and anxious and he had no idea what to do about it. She had always been restless, distracted, and sad but never told Drew why. She would cry when she thought he wasn't listening. All he knew was that she was fixated on Unova; she kept up to date with the region's news, travel brochures, and even missing person reports. He insisted after he went on his journey that she travel there like he suspected she wanted to._

_That's where she was now but she was showing no hope in improving. His mum was just as lost and depressed as ever._

_"I'm fine Andrew, I promise."_

_A lie._

_"Do you need me to send you money?"_

_"Please don't worry about me sweetie," Thea said, "Focus on your training, win the Grand Festival, I'm cheering for you."_

_"Alright, if you're sure," Drew said reluctantly, he would address this after the Festival was over, "But I'm still sending you some cash."_

_"I am sure."_

_"Then I'll call you again after I win."_

_"Perfect."_

_His mum hung up. There was a feeling of unease in his stomach but he forced it down, he would worry after the Festival was over. Everything would be fine._

_Another lie._

_Drew inhaled and exhaled before grabbing his Pokéballs. He should train, that would get his mind off of everything._

_As he walked down the stairs, still trying to shake off the thoughts of his mother. As he went closer to the bottom floor he ran into a familiar someone. It was May. She was standing at the corner of one of the many staircase landings with her Xtransciever in her hand. She seemed altered and not herself._

_"A-alright Max," She said shakily, "Don't worry, I-I'm going to take care of everything. I'll be home soon. I love you."_

_When she hung up her hands went limp and she dropped the Xtransciever to the ground, Drew could hear the screen crack. May leaned against the wall to gain her footing as her legs were shaking, her eyes swiftly filled with large tears that fell down her cheeks rapidly. She brought a gloved hand to her mouth to muffle her sobs and her body shook from crying._

_Drew stood at the top of the landing a half a floor up, completely unsure as what he should do. He'd seen May cry before, she was an emotional person, but he'd never seen her like this. It wasn't a disappointed or disheartened cry from losing a match; this was a desperate and heart shattering cry, one that sounded as if her whole world had caved in and she was stuck in the middle of it alone._

_He decided it was best if he just went back up and took the elevator, she clearly wouldn't want to be disturbed and he was hardly a comforting guy. He doubted he'd want to see his face when she was upset. May tended to think he was mocking her whenever he was anything but casually teasing with her. Drew turned to head up the stairs but May looked up and saw him._

_There was an awkward exchange of eye contact before May broke the gaze and continued sobbing. Now he couldn't just leave, he'd look like the biggest dick on the planet and May already thought that. So he just stood there._

_"Are you alright?"_

_May laughed bitterly through her tears. Bitterness didn't suit her._

_"No."_

_"Do you need anything?"_

_"No."_

_"Do you want me to leave?"_

_"No."_

_The last reply startled him slightly but he didn't let it show. Instead he sat on one of the stair steps and waited out her crying. She must have been there for a good fifteen or so minutes before her cries turned into hiccups. Her blue eyes looked up at him and she mumbled out an apology._

_"It's fine. Do you want to talk about it?"_

_May shook her head,_

_"I… I have to leave."_

_Drew wasn't sure what she meant by that and in what capacity,_

_"Will you be OK?"_

_"No, but I'll manage," May replied as she slowly walked up the stairs towards Drew, her eyes were still damp and Drew recognized the look of brokenness masked by a smile. In that moment she resembled his mother and it terrified him. She reached out her arms slowly and wrapped them around Drew's sitting form, "Please hug me back, just this once."_

_He obeyed and wrapped his arms around her, it was an awkward position but he didn't mind. He could smell her soap, it smelled like peaches. Tears wet his shoulder but he didn't say anything about it. He simply wanted May to feel… OK._

_When May pulled away standing and looked at him for a moment. She appeared to be considering something and before she could lose her nerve she followed through with her original intention. Drew watched May lean down and pressed her lips to his forehead, she stayed there for a few moments before she created a distance between them again, he was speechless._

_"T-Thank you," She managed to get out, her eyes filling with tears again, "I'll never forget what you've done for me. I promise."_

_She began crying again and it must have become too much for her because after a moment she ran off leaving Drew completely baffled and anxious._

_The next day he saw on the news that Norman Maple had been in a severe car crash and was in a coma. His daughter May, a favourite for Top Coordinator of Johto this season, would be returning home from and taking his place as Petalburg Gym Leader._

_Drew lost miserably in the Grand Festival that year._

_Norman Maple woke up three years later, paralyzed and mute, May continued supporting her family as their main source of income._

_That moment in the staircase was the last he would see or hear from the girl he'd grown to love until the night of Ash Ketchum's Indigo League Celebratory Party six years later._

**March 19th, 2015**

**Floccesy Town, Unova**

**5:11am**

Georgia was not pleased one bit. This entire trip was a damn waste and she was anxious to get out of this place.

"Trip!" She snapped into her Xtransciever, "Where are you?"

"Calm your tits; I'll be out in a minute."

"Well hurry it up; I want to get out of here before the town wakes up."

"Like I said, I'll be out in a minute," He said dismissively before hanging up on her.

Georgia growled in frustration, she hated being his partner. They'd been working together for almost two years now and she was still incredibly irritated by everything he did. It almost made her regret getting into this line of work… almost. There was one time when they'd gotten a little more than friendly a couple months ago but they had both agreed that it meant nothing and it was not going to happen again. Trip wasn't the type to get sentimental about sleeping with someone and Georgia wasn't either. Yeah, normally people their age would be immature about something like sex but they were working for Team fucking Plasma, they weren't typical teenagers.

The two were sent to scope out Floccesy Town to confirm Champion Adler's whereabouts. Ever since everything went to shit in the Kanto and Johto government it had given Team Plasma the distraction it needed to begin to bring their plans into fruition. Georgia and Trip's job was to evaluate the town's condition and the Unova Champion's personal residence.

Georgia was currently waiting for Trip to get out of Adler's house. The Champion wasn't here; she'd sent word to headquarters and apparently her partner felt the need to stick around longer than needed and take as many pictures with his stupid camera he could.

"Hey," A masculine voice spoke from behind her, "Ready to head out?"

Georgia scowled as she pushed herself off of the porch step,

"Took you long enough."

"Yeah, well I like to be thorough," Trip shrugged.

"With what? We just had to see whether Alder was here or not."

"You really don't see the big picture do you? Just because he wasn't there doesn't mean there isn't more to be learned."

"Did you learn anything then?" She asked skeptically.

A faint blush dusted Trip's cheeks as he replied,

"Well, no but–

"Waste of time," Georgia concluded in a tone that said that the conversation was over and that she had won.

Trip rolled his eyes but apparently thought better of challenging her again. The two instead continued walking and fell into a quiet pace. Georgia was tired and ready to get back to the Pokémon Centre to get a decent nap in before she was reassigned somewhere else.

Augh.

This whole deal was stressing her out. How she got into this mess, she had no idea. Ok, she did know 'how' but 'why' was the real question. Instead of stalking Champions and wearing cheesy Team Plasma uniforms she could have been training, battling dragon types or whatever it was you were supposed to do at sixteen.

The world was changing though. There was a big storm coming or maybe it had already hit, it just had yet to reach her and Georgia would be damned if she sat idle and let it wreak havoc.

"Do you really think they'll do it?" She asked suddenly.

Trip eyed her with confusion,

"What?"

"Do you think they'll kill Alder?"

Trip pondered this a moment, even through the dim lighting of what was almost dawn Georgia could see his troubled expression.

"That depends on us," Were the words he decided on.

"Well that's bloody brilliant," She scoffed, "Leave fate in the hands of two sixteen year olds. Great plan."

"It is what it is."

Georgia sneered, not liking the attitude in Trip's voice. She was about to bite back something probably mean when she saw something in the corner of her eye.

"Get down!" She whispered harshly, ducking into some shrubbery and dragging Trip with her.

"Arceus, what the hell?"

"Look," Georgia motioned towards the house on the other side of the shrubs, "Someone's out there."

"We can't be seen."

"I know that genius," She growled at him with a punch in the arm, "Check to see who it is, I've got eyes on your back.

Trip's pale blue eyes peered above the shrubs while Georgia kept watch behind them,

"It's just a woman out for a smoke."

"Thank Mew; hopefully she'll be back inside in a few minutes."

"Hey, does she look familiar to you?" Trip whispered.

Despite the bad lighting when Georgia peeked over the plants she could see the woman pretty well. She was tall and pretty, probably in her late twenties with what seemed to be magenta coloured hair. Georgia squinted slightly as to get a better view as well as to recall why the woman looked so familiar. Suddenly a memory popped up. No… it couldn't have been…

Before either of the teens could make anymore assumptions about the woman a man's voice came from inside the house,

"Are you smoking out there?"

Georgia watched as the woman snuffed out her cigarette as she replied, clearly exasperated,

"No!"

"Liar!" The other voice accused, "You said you were quitting!"

"Let me live! You don't hear me pestering you about your nasty ass habits!" The woman yelled as she stomped into the house.

The mindless bickering ceased as the back door to the house was shut which left the two kids alone.

"Let's just get back."

"Is that who I think it was?" Trip asked.

Georgia wanted to say no, but couldn't in good conscience. Instead she just hurried the hell up with the promise of sleep waiting for her.

**March 22st, 2015**

**Outskirts of Saffron City**

**11:39pm**

Serena yawned as the group debated on the best way to make their way past Saffron City. It seemed like one half of the group wanted to go around the city, through the quieter Lavender Town and then Rock Tunnel but the others wanted to head straight through Saffron. At this point Serena really didn't care, she just wanted to have a plan and stick with it.

"We've already wasted so much time, we should have been in Unova by now, and we can't afford to waste anymore! Going around is just going to add more days to the clock!" Leaf whispered harshly.

"I hate to agree with her but she's right," Gary conceded reluctantly, "We need to pick up the damn pace."

"After what happened in Vermillion?" Dawn scoffed, "We could be killed, and Max said that Sabrina surrendered and is now working with Team Rocket, the entire city is probably overrun."

Serena was getting bored of this; decisions like this were tearing whatever semblance of comradery the group had to begin with. Even Clemont and Bonnie were arguing, Bonnie wanting to cut through the city and Clemont was against it. She hated seeing them fight so this whole situation really sucked. Serena wanted to say something but how seriously were these trainers going to take her? She was literally surrounded by Gym Leaders, Top Coordinators, Elite Fours, and potential Champions, if there was one thing she learned from her time as a Pokémon Performer it was that other trainers usually didn't have much respect for her. It wasn't fair but it wasn't something Serena could do anything about.

Biting her lips she braced herself.

"Will all of you guys just shut up?!"

Oops. That was a little loud. She quickly recovered when she saw she'd gotten everyone's attention. Even Paul and Leaf looked caught off guard and turned their attention towards her as Serena continued, a little flustered from yelling,

"I know that everyone wants what's best but fighting like this isn't going to help. We need a solid plan but none of you are on the same page. We don't have anyone who's actually in charge and it makes everyone go in different directions. I swear to Arceus if you guys don't make a decision now, I'll make it and you'll all have to deal with it."

Everyone was silent for a moment, Serena's face was hot and she felt a lump in her throat. No one spoke and suddenly she became shy again and inwardly chastised herself for speaking so frankly.

"She's right," Drew agreed, "Can we just get on with something. I honestly don't give a shit at this point."

Serena breathed a sigh of relief, extremely glad that Drew took her side. They'd known each other for a couple years as casual acquaintances and she was glad that through these past weeks she'd been able to confirm that he was as good a guy as she initially thought.

"Alright," Ash said firmly, "I don't know what you guys are going to do, but I'm going to go through Saffron. We need to find Jessie, James and Meowth as quickly as possible so that's what I'm going to do. I don't want to split up from everyone but… after what I saw… I can't afford to spend time idle."

Serena watched as everyone's expressions changed.

"I'm coming with you," Misty resolved.

"Alright," Drew said, trying to wrap up everything quickly, "People who want to do that, go, if you don't let us know now and we'll say 'later bitch'."

"Arceus Drew," May scolded, "Do you have to be like that?"

"What? You're not coming then?"

"No I'm coming but your bedside manner is shit."

"Watch your language May," He teased, "So who else is coming?"

"You said that word thirty seconds ago!" May protested.

"Regardless," Leaf interrupted, not interested in their banter apparently, "Who's coming and who's not?"

Serena bit her inner cheek. She really didn't want to split up with her friends, even the people like Paul and Misty who she was pretty sure didn't like her whatsoever. Every single one of them was valuable to the group and she genuinely didn't want to see any of them go.

"Yeah, OK," Iris spoke up first, followed by the confirmation of others whether it be verbal or bodily.

That was a relief.

"We should split up again since there's so many of us," Cilan suggested, "If we go as a big group of people we'll stick out like sore thumbs."

"I agree," Clemont added, "Who here knows their way around Saffron City?"

Leaf, Gary, Misty, Ash, Paul and May raised their hands.

"Great. Logically we should have one leader who knows where they're going and an even distribution of power. Each group should have a high ranking trainer just in case."

"Good idea big bro!" Bonnie chimed in.

"Why thank you," Clemont chuckled, pushing his glasses up confidently, "I say Leaf, Misty and Paul lead the groups. You guys cool with that?"

The people in question nodded.

"I must say us all suddenly working together is a pleasant taste in my mouth," Cilan mused, not shortly before Iris smacked him upside the head mumbling about him being ridiculous, "Sorry."

Serena giggled despite herself.

"So who is headed with who?" Iris asked.

"I'll take you, Clemont, Cilan and Drew," Leaf decided, "I'll leave Misty with boy wonder and his nerdy fanboy."

"That's us Ash!" Gary whispered with mock excitement. Serena bit her lip to hold another laugh. Leaf looked exasperated.

"I guess I'm taking Ash and Gary then," Misty sighed, "Bonnie too."

"I guess that leaves me with you," Dawn realized as she looked at Paul, Serena couldn't tell how exactly Dawn felt about that. Honestly Serena wasn't sure how she herself felt. Paul freaked her out. Dawn and May were awesome but Paul… definitely scary.

"Looks like it," The man answered, not appearing to care either way. Dawn frowned.

"Now that that's decided let's set up a plan," Gary said, "Clemont?"

"Yup!" He answered while pulling up a map of the city on his screen, "I think I have the perfect way to get through the city quickly.

* * *

Paul had led all four of them through the eerily quiet streets, taking as many off road turns as possible. He hadn't said a word to any of them even his directions were just hand signals. Dawn unfazed by the older man's callous and blunt manner but May didn't seem to like it and neither did Serena.

Still, the group continued on. They had shockingly not seen any Rocket agents which seemed odd considering the fact that Saffron was supposed to be taken over. When Serena asked May about this in a hushed tone she'd shrugged and said that she was as stumped as any of them, there had been a curfew issued on citizens but no grunts roaming the streets was definitely not normal. Still they'd taken back allies of the eastern side of Saffron's streets to keep off of any surveillance cameras that may have been installed in the main areas.

"We've been at this for at least three hours," Dawn spoke up, clutching her tired Piplup in her arms.

Serena watched as Paul turned to face the blue haired girl and spoke for the first time since they'd set out,

"Do you want to take a nap? Fix your hair and makeup?" He sounded rather nasty, so much so it made Serena wince.

"For Mew's sake Paul," Dawn cursed in an uncharacteristically angry voice, "I was just going to ask if you knew where we were. You don't have to be such a dick all the time."

His eyes narrowed before reaching into his pack and pulling out a Pokémon and released it silently.

"Nin, ninjask!" It spoke when it came into form.

"Ninjask, check the skies for our location as well as others'."

"Nin!" It agreed before flying up into the night sky.

"Happy?"

Dawn's lip curled at the taunting tone Paul held but replied bitingly,

"Not with you, no."

"Pip, piplup!" The water Pokémon Dawn held agreed violently. Clearly he wasn't Paul's biggest fan either.

Serena and May shared an awkward glance. She felt so glad that she wasn't the third wheel in this situation and that the older girl was here. It would have been extremely uncomfortable to witness this argument if she was alone.

About twenty minutes later Ninjask arrived back, reporting whatever information it had to Paul before being returned to its Pokéball.

"We're on track, an hour or so."

Nearly an hour past with nary a word said between the group of them, mostly because each of them were dead on their feet from spending nearly the past forty eight hours on their feet traveling with no rest in between.

When they reached the underground subway entrance she almost wept with joy, they were almost there.

When Clemont had pulled up the city map he had brought up plans for subway lines that had never been opened to the public. They weren't generally accessible and although they had been nearly completed they were now abandoned. Both Clemont and Cilan were sure that if given enough time they could get a carriage working long enough for them to reach the end of the city quickly and without being seen. It was convenient and just what they needed because realistically the thirteen of them couldn't travel across the second largest city in Kanto on foot without being caught or in good time.

The four of trainers stared at the sealed entrance to the underground, May tried the door but it refused to budge. Each of them tried, but failed before May got impatient and released her Blaziken.

Serena marveled at the large fire type, she'd seen May's Blaziken in action on television in Contests and the like but seeing it in person… its sheer power was almost blinding.

"Blaz' use Sky Uppercut on the entrance," The future Elite Four commanded with a smile and a pat to his shoulder.

With a swift and powerful punch the entrance crumbled with ease.

"Woah," Serena marveled.

"You should see her when she's serious," Dawn remarked with a grin. May blushed at this and Paul gave her a look that Serena couldn't read. Whether he was impressed or not, she couldn't tell.

They entered the underground pathway, it was dusty and there was still construction equipment hanging around but for the most part it did seem like it was finished. The floor was tiled save for the occasional spot, there were ticket booths and everything. Despite that, it was creepy. Every other time she'd taken public transportation there were crowds of people, this felt like something out of Clemont's apocalyptic novels.

The group finally reached the carriage they'd be taking. Unfortunately they seemed to be the first ones here and that meant waiting. That was to be expected as they were the group closest to the subway line entrance and the others would be a couple hours behind.

"I don't know about you guys," May said, "But I'm getting some shut eye before the others arrive."

"Good plan," Dawn decided.

"I'll keep watch," Paul muttered.

"You need sleep, if you're really so worried about being found we can leave Blaziken to watch."

He seemed to consider this a moment before nodding. Serena grabbed her pack and places it in the most comfortable spot she could find and rested her head. Sleep was instantaneous.

* * *

Paul opened his eyes reluctantly, as much as he needed the sleep he felt worse after getting some. He wondered at the back of his mind how long he'd been out. Observing his surroundings it seemed to have been a considerable amount as Misty's group had arrived. They were all sleeping save for May, Dawn and Serena who were sitting against a wall diagonal to him. He could hear them talking and despite his disinterest in their conversation hearing it was inevitable.

"No really, I think she doesn't like me," Serena said in a tone that made Paul feel slightly annoyed.

"That's silly," May replied with a laugh, "Misty is super nice, honestly I've seen you two talking and it's definitely all in your head."

"She's just so intimidating."

"Maybe when you consider her position as Elite Four, but she's sweet- temper of a Loudred at times- but sweet. If I'm being totally transparent with you, I think your current or former crush on Ash is making you see things that aren't there."

Serena appeared flustered, her face red as hell,

"W-what are you talking about?"

"Don't be embarrassed, we've all been there haven't we?" May giggled, "Right Dawn?"

"I'll say," The blue haired girl agreed, "I'd bet good money that most people who've traveled with Ash have had crushes on him. He's cute and endearing and when he talks to you he makes you feel special. I had on and off feelings for him while we traveled and even if they aren't romantic anymore, I still can't help but love him."

"Same," May replied flippantly.

Paul frowned; this conversation was making him both confused and uncomfortable. He had no idea about 'romantic feelings' but he did sort of understand on the level that Ash was the type to pull people into his world just by being himself. It had happened to Paul when he was younger and if he thought about it, it was happening now, not just to him but everyone who was following Ash now. It was incredibly strange but that was Ash Ketchum… strange but magnetic.

"That makes sense," Serena nodded, "I don't even know I like him that way anymore but that doesn't mean he isn't immensely special to me. What does that have to do with Misty though?"

"Misty knows him in a way you don't, just like each of us know him in our own way, same as you. You're just a little intimidated by it; I kinda was at first too. She's older, a little brazen and that can make you cautious but trust me, Misty doesn't dislike you, I kind of got the idea that it was the opposite," May assured her.

"If you say so, but it's still so awkward."

May sighed listlessly, one that carried weight that was too heavy for someone her age. Paul recognized it as his brother often sighed that way. The difference between May and Reggie was that Reggie dealt with it and made it a strength and the younger girl didn't. She let it control her and Paul didn't have respect for people like that.

"Dawn and I know a thing or two about awkward."

"You mean Drew and Paul?" Serena asked, Paul's attention was caught at the sound of his name.

"You noticed then?"

"How could I not?"

Even Paul had noticed the discomfort between both May and Drew. He was self-aware enough to admit that he wasn't the most adept at reading social situations and yet he'd seen it, it had to be obvious. Him and Dawn however, well he didn't realize people had taken notice.

"Fair enough."

"You want to fill me in on this?" Serena asked.

"Drew and I were rivals back when I was first starting out."

"I remember seeing your battles," The blonde gushed, "The tabloids always talked about the nature of your relationship. It's embarrassing to say but I used to hope you two would get together."

Paul wanted to roll his eyes. He wished they'd just be quiet, if they were just sleeping like everyone else then maybe he could sleep too.

"Oh you and me both Serena," Dawn laughed, "Especially with all those rumors Harley used to spread around to the press about to you two."

"None of those were true! Anyways," May stuttered out, "After I became a gym leader we lost touch. I didn't really say a proper goodbye to him so it's just… weird seeing him again."

"Cause you two liked each other?"

"No!" May protested as Dawn nodded, a slightly amusing contradiction, "Because I cut contact and I feel bad. He was my friend."

"What about you and Paul?" Serena questioned causing Paul to wince inwardly. He hoped Dawn had the tact to keep her mouth shut about a few things he'd rather not revisit.

"Paul? He was Ash's rival so I know him from then."

"That's it? It really seems like something more than that?"

Damn, the performer was more perceptive than her appearance showed.

"I worked with his brother for this past year?" Dawn offered, "We battled a couple times?"

Before anyone else could comment on Paul and his interaction with Dawn he heard footsteps and voices, he got up instantly, a hand in his back pocket ready to throw out Weaville's Pokéball. Dawn squeaked,

"Paul? You were awake?"

"Someone's coming?" He said, ignoring her question.

May, Dawn and Serena were on their feet instantly.

"Blaziken, stand by," May whispered to her fire type.

"You too Piplup."

Holding his breath Paul snuck quietly with his back against the wall to the corner, the footsteps got closer and just as they were near enough he moved out, meeting the grey eyes of Leaf. Paul breathed out, put out that he had been careful over nothing.

"Sorry we're late," She muttered, dark circles prominent under her eyes, he saw her expression turn into a frown when she saw that half of the group already here were sleeping, "Glad to see you're all being productive."

"We aren't robots," Paul drawled, not interested in her approval, "Neither are you judging by the state of you."

Leaf gave him a hard look but decided against responding,

"Cilan and I will take a look at the carriage," Clemont offered.

"Sounds great!" Cilan replied excitedly, "We can sleep once we get it up and running."

* * *

And they were moving, whizzing through the underground of Saffron City. Everyone was either sitting down in the subway car with someone they knew or sleeping. Paul sat towards the back with nothing to occupy him, Ash apparently thought this meant he required some company (which he most certainly didn't) and sat back next to him after a lengthy conversation with Gary and Misty, one Paul hadn't bothered listening in on.

"Hey," Ash said, exhaling into the seat next to Paul. He didn't gratify the younger trainer with a response as he didn't want a conversation, "I haven't really had a chance to talk to you since… well since all this started. Other than back at Vermillion…"

Accepting the fact that Ash was the same kid he was back in Sinnoh and he wouldn't leave until he got the chat he wanted Paul replied,

"So talk."

"Well first, sorry for blowing up at you after Lt. Surge. I was mad. I still don't like what you did but I get it. Can we put that behind us?"

Paul nodded shortly, not really caring.

"Great!" Ash prattled on, distinctly brighter than before, "I just wanted say how amazing your battle against Cynthia was. I watched it while I was training for the Indigo Plateau. Your Torterra was definitely the best I'd ever seen it this season, or any season since I met you."

"He'd have to be to beat Cynthia's Garchomp," Paul muttered, surprised that Ash had kept up with his career the same was Paul had Ash's.

"That's for sure, she's something else. I knew you could do it though, you always were my biggest challenge back when we were kids and just as determined as me to become Champion."

"I guess so," Paul smirked slightly and against his better judgment continued the conversation, "I'm not surprised you won either."

"Really?" Ash laughed, patting Pikachu on the head, "I was. You were there though, what did you think of the battle?"

"Your Pikachu was unsurprisingly powerful," He began, earning himself a pleased 'cha' from the mouse Pokémon, "I would have liked to battle against your Charizard back when we were kids."

"When this is all over you should battle us," Ash offered, "You did promise we would, even if it was back when I was twelve. Maybe by the end of this we'll both be Champions battling each other."

"You think you can beat Red, the kid who won the Indigo Plateau when he was ten?"

"I grew up with Red," The raven haired boy answered, a little more seriously now, "I know him and I know that he won't go down without a fight. Honestly though, can you see this ending in any way other than me taking his spot through a battle? It's how he became Champion in the first place so it would make sense to take him down that way."

"It's a possibility," Paul admitted but kept to himself there were other ways it could end. In injury. In capture. In death.

"Exactly, so whether or not I _think_ I can beat him doesn't matter. I _have_ to beat him."

"You sound like me."

"Good," Ash grinned, "You get shit done."

That he did.

At that moment the subway car stopped and Bonnie got up with a smile,

"We're here!"

Anyone who might have been sleeping sure as hell wasn't now. He could hear Iris swearing under her breath as well as the grumblings of anyone else who had been deep in slumber.

The group of them gathered their things and left the subway, finding themselves very near the town line.

"I think I'm speaking for everyone when I say, thank Arceus we're almost out of here," Iris groaned, "This city is the absolute worst, you can fight me on that."

"That's for sure," Paul muttered in response. In all honesty he would be perfectly happy if he never set foot in that damned city again.

"Then let's get out of here."

Everyone in the group seemed just as eager and they made their way towards the town line. As the distance grew smaller Paul noticed something.

Or someone.

"Oak?" Paul muttered under his breath to the young researcher.

"'Sup Paul?"

"Look who's up ahead."

"Bloody hell," The scientist swore when he saw what Paul had, "Guys stop and look down the path."

And they did.

It was Sabrina. Gym Leader of Saffron, one who gave into Team Rocket, who also happened to have psychic powers.

Everything made sense now, why no Rocket Grunts roamed the streets. They didn't need any of that when they had a woman who could control the city with a simple whim. He felt himself an idiot for not realizing this earlier. Team Rocket had known they were here the entire time.

Paul reached for a Pokéball but before he could Sabrina was right in front of them using her powers to freeze everyone. A faint blue light surrounded them as they were engulfed in the Gym Leader's abilities.

"Sabrina, what the hell is this?" Misty demanded from her frozen position, "Please just let us go, we're just passing through!"

The dark haired woman stared at them coldly, hands in the air as she controlled them with her mind,

"You should have stayed out of this Waterflower."

"How the hell could I?" The Elite Four spat, "I can't let Team Rocket do this!"

"If you care about the citizens of Kanto you will relinquish your power of the League to Rocket."

Misty's face was furious,

"I don't like pulling rank but I am your immediate superior, I order you to release us!"

"You hold no rank under Red's championship," Sabrina said unfeelingly, "All I need is one word, your surrender, and you will be released indefinitely if you cooperate."

Paul gritted his teeth furiously, disgusted by the gym leader's perceived cowardice. He tried to fight whatever force was keeping him frozen in place but it was fruitless.

"Oh screw off," Iris scoffed, "You're so freaking pretentious, let us go or I'll give you a reason to!"

Paul watched as Sabrina opened her mouth to speak but before a sound could be uttered he found he could move again, and everyone else around him could as well. Confused he looked up at the psychic.

And Sabrina had a short sword protruding through her chest.

The woman's mouth remained open as blood dripped from her mouth eerily, her eyes wide in confusion as she dropped to the ground when the blade was violently removed revealing the fatal wound.

No one could do anything but watch in shock and terror.

When she had fallen the culprit was revealed, it was a boy not too much younger than Paul, his hair was a deep red and his eyes hard and unfeeling. He turned and made direct eye contact with Ash as he spoke,

"Thanks for the opening."

And he was gone.

It took about a second for the group to process what had just happened and then everyone was rushing towards Sabrina.

"Does anyone have a Pokémon that can heal?" Cilan cried and he pressed his hands against the bloody wound that was spilling onto the ground, staining it almost black. Ash pulled the bandana off May's head and ran to help Cilan stop the bleeding.

"I do," Leaf breathed heavily as she released a Pokémon from it ball, "Wigglytuff, use Heal Pulse."

The fairy type began its work, a pink light enveloping Sabrina.

"Is it working?!" Misty demanded, "Is she going to be OK?"

Sabrina coughed up more blood in response. Clemont lurched and turned away to throw up, Dawn was breathing irregularly and clutching her heart, and everyone else was looking on in complete terror.

"T-uff!" Wigglytuff cried worriedly, "Wiggly!"

"She's too far gone," Leaf bit out reluctantly, "There's an entrance and exit wound, Wigglytuff says it hit a major artery. She's not going to make it."

The psychic lifted her hand towards Misty; Paul watched as the Elite Four fell to her knees and took the dying woman's hand.

"I… I'm sorry Sabrina," Misty managed, eyes filled with disbelief and horror, "I failed you… I'm sorry. It was my job to... and I failed."

Sabrina's eyes were beginning to shut but she fought it as she spoke her last words,

"Rocket… searching for the… silver eyed son and The… Chosen One."

The life left her eyes and suddenly Sabrina's body was nothing but an empty vessel… a thing.

"She's gone," Leaf whispered softly.

"Fuck!" Drew cursed as he walked off in anger. Dawn let out a pained cry as she buried her face into Paul's shoulder. Everyone was completely out of it, Cilan and Ash's blood soaked hands were shaking in astonishment, May was crying silently as she and Iris grabbed both of Misty's hands in an attempt to comfort the distraught red head. Drew was clearly pissed, Bonnie and Serena were rubbing Clemont's back after he'd gotten sick, Leaf just sat there with her eyes completely blank. Paul found he couldn't do anything but focus on the girl crying on his shoulder.

It was Gary who spoke first, it was hollow, but he spoke none the less,

"She said Team Rocket was looking for the silver eyed son and The Chosen One."

"What of it?" Paul questioned.

"Well I don't know about silver eyed sons, but we've got a full fledged Chosen One right here."

So everyone turned to Ash.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's been almost a year since I updated... sorry.
> 
> I also just realized I ended the last chapter with a Gym Leader death too... whoops.
> 
> Anyways, if anyone is still reading then I'll try to update more frequently.


	10. Endless Amounts of Weirdness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Battles, kisses and babies. It's almost as messy as it sounds.

**August 24th** **2014**

**Veilstone City, Sinnoh**

**10:54am**

"We're heading out to the grocery store Dawn!" Maylene called out from the front entrance cordially.

"If anyone comes by for breeding stuff, I trust you to help them on your own," Reggie added as Dawn heard the door open.

"No need to worry," The coordinator answered as she added the flour to her cake batter, "I promise to do you proud if the opportunity arises!"

"I know you will!"

Dawn smiled to herself as she heard the couple leave,

"Piplup, could you pass me the cake pan? I'm finished mixing and this baby needs to get cooking."

The water type brought her the requested item and Dawn began pouring in the mixture. Maylene and Reggie were out to get supplies for tomorrow and Dawn was baking in preparation. Paul was coming by tomorrow for his birthday. Maylene was joining the two brothers and as Dawn was practically living at Reggie's home and Maylene's dojo she had been kindly invited. It was probably going to be incredibly uncomfortable, even Reggie himself had warned Dawn that Paul tended to be even more unpleasant on his birthday. Still, she loved birthdays and any excuse to hang out with Maylene and Reggie was reason enough to say yes so here she was, baking Paul a cake.

Now that was something she never thought she'd be doing.

Just as Dawn put the cake in the oven she heard the doorbell ring. She looked at Piplup curiously, who shrugged.

"I guess… I should get that…" Dawn said. If it was someone looking for Reggie for breeder reasons she would have to be the one to carry out the task instead. Dawn was confident in her abilities but it still was kind of nerve wracking.

"Lup," The Pokémon replied as if to say, 'duh'.

Dawn gave in and ran to the door, pushing the hair that had escaped her bun behind her ears and patting down her apron.

She swung the front door open and there was Paul. Her mouth hung open, there was an intention to speak but for some reason it didn't actually happen.

He stood there, bag in hand, face as impassive yet disagreeable as ever.

"Dawn."

"So you remembered my name this time," Dawn grinned, slightly embarrassed to appear so dishevelled from her oddly aggressive baking, "I'm flattered."

"I apologize for forgetting the name of a girl I had limited contact with when I was barely a teen."

Dawn smirked as she opened the door further to let the man in,

"Was that a joke?"

"No, an apology."

For some reason she didn't believe that and it was still kind of funny.

"We weren't expecting you until tomorrow, we were just getting ready. In fact you just missed Reggie and Maylene; they went to pick up some vegetables for tomorrow."

"I know. I waited until he left."

"Why?"

"My brother always makes a bigger deal about things than needed."

"Or maybe you _don't_ make a big enough deal of things than needed," She challenged slyly earning herself a hard look, "You really should cut Reggie slack, he loves you to pieces. It's all he ever talks about, you and Maylene."

Paul raised his eyebrow,

"Battle me."

"Excuse me?" What an odd Segway.

"Battle me."

"You really get to the point, don't you? Also, there's a cake in the oven."

"How long until it's finished?"

"Forty five minutes."

"More than enough time."

That was technically true but Dawn really didn't feel like battling Paul but she didn't have much of an excuse to say no. Plus it was his birthday tomorrow and she wasn't going to be mean to someone who had a birthday in literal hours.

"Sure, who did you want to battle against? I mean, I'm assuming you had one of my Pokémon in mind since you saw my battle at the Grand Festival finals."

"Observant," Paul remarked, "Your Typhlosion."

* * *

"You always did like the power houses," Dawn said with a knowing sigh.

"Torterra, use Bite!" Paul commanded strongly.

The large Pokémon, who was already in close range with Dawn's Typhlosion after delivering a strong Giga Impact— obeyed, sinking its teeth into the other Pokémon's shoulder.

"Typhlosion!" Dawn cried out in worry.

Paul smirked, the battle had already been going in his favor but he suspected one more direct hit would ensure his win. It wasn't that Dawn wasn't a formidable opponent, because she was, he was just better.

Just as he was about to utter his final command, a close ranged Stone Edge—something that would crush the fire type flat— Dawn smiled a dangerous smile, one that caused Paul's heart to nearly stop.

"Now!" The girl announced.

As she spoke her Typhlosion's neck burst into powerful flames, exactly where Torterra currently had its mouth clamped tightly. The fire burned Paul's Pokémon's face causing it to release its grip and roar out in pain.

"Alright Typhlosion, time for the show stopper!" Dawn shouted confidently, "Use Overheat!"

"Torterra, get out of there!"

But it was too late; Torterra had flinched from the previous surprise and was caught in Typhlosion's explosion of heat and flames. Paul could only watch in defeat as his starter took the super effective damage of the Overheat, and an impressive one at that.

The battle was over. Torterra had fainted.

Dawn grinned in excitement, not in a boastful way either, just thrilled to have won a battle with her Pokémon.

"You were fantastic," She gushed to her Pokémon as she wrapped her thin arms around the Fire Type, "You deserve a good rest, let me just take care of Torterra and then we'll get you healed up and fed."

Paul approached Torterra and its eyes fluttered open slightly when Paul placed his hand on its head in comfort,

"Good battle. We'll win next time."

He stood up and was met with a wide eyed and happy Dawn holding out her hand,

"That was an incredible battle Paul; I totally understand even more why Ash respected you so much now that I've experienced a battle with you for myself."

Paul shook her hand briefly,

"You didn't disappoint."

And Dawn shot him the brightest smile he had possibly ever seen.

After the two of them had cared for their Pokémon they went back inside. Dawn had let the cake she'd baked out to cool and was preparing icing and garnishes for later. It smelled heavenly, just as good as it had been when he was a kid.

"Reggie told me you liked vanilla cake with pecha berries," She had remarked, "I found an old recipe while I was searching through the recipe box."

The girl had been correct, it had been his favourite as a child and Reggie always tried to make it for him on his birthday, and despite his brother's culinary skills he had never had a success. Judging by the smell and appearance of the cake in front of him it seemed Dawn had succeeded in recreating Paul's childhood favourite.

Paul was leaning against the pantry cupboards as his watched Dawn slice the pink berries skillfully, humming quietly. He knew he was staring but didn't care; he had never shied away from observing people so he wasn't going to make an exception for his brother's apprentice.

"If you stare any harder you might hurt yourself," She chuckled, not looking up from her baking, "If you have something to ask me, don't torture yourself about the answer and just ask."

That caught him slightly off guard but she was right, it was better to be direct,

"How did you do it?"

"Beat you?" Dawn confirmed, putting the cutting knife down and turning towards Paul. She leaned against the counter so she could finally make eye contact, "I knew you'd misjudge me so I used that to my advantage."

That confused him even more.

"That only confused you more, huh?" Dawn chuckled, somehow reading him easily (to an unnerving degree), "I'm not trying to say that you think you're better than me or have some sort of superiority complex, not really. I'm just used to league battlers thinking I'm strong enough to win at coordinating but not enough to beat them. You have some degree of respect for me— you wouldn't have asked to battle if you didn't— but you're confident in yourself. As we battled I could tell you might get over confident, your battling was superb so I needed to wait for you to get cocky and come into close range so I could use my type advantage against you. Torterra is so heavy that once it's in close it won't be able to dodge quickly enough."

"You planned a whole strategy on a hypothetical?"

"Don't you? It's the same as when you would get Ash— a notorious hothead— so angry that he gets careless. It's simple psychology. You just think that no one would try that on you since you're all stone faced and serious. It's funny; you are a lot more like Ash than either of you think."

"You read me that easily?" Paul replied disbelievingly.

"To be honest I was just hoping it would work," Dawn admitted sheepishly, "But I'd rather pretend that I'm a genius at reading people."

Paul's mouth quirked up slightly into a smirk,

"It's an interesting way to approach a battle."

"Well everyone has buttons. It's all about recognizing them in others as well as yourself, that way they aren't used against you."

"What are your buttons?"

"In a battle? I'm like Ash, I get really super mad. I can lose it when people taunt me or my Pokémon. That's why I tell myself 'No need to worry', it chills me out and reminds me that they're taunts are just words and it's just a Pokémon battle."

"Just a Pokémon battle? That sounds a little flippant for someone who makes a career out of _just_ battles," Paul answered disapprovingly.

"I just don't let one loss define me. I did that a lot in my first couple years of coordinating and it really screwed up my performance and made my Pokémon nervous. A loss isn't the end of the world, it sucks but it's something to learn from. Only beaten Magikarp become Gyarados after all. If I make it life shattering then it makes me a sad and bitter person and I don't want to be that way. Why the sudden curiosity in my person philosophies?"

"It's nothing," He said curtly. This was not a conversation he wanted to have. Advice to learn from to improve battling? Great. Heart to hearts with girls he barely knew? Definitely not.

Dawn shrugged, didn't push the subject and instead picked up one of the pecha berries and offered it to him,

"Want one?"

What a strange girl.

 **January 5** **th** **,** **2015**

**Jubilife City, Sinnoh**

**11:34pm**

Dawn yawned deeply as she placed her luggage on the Pokémon Centre bed. It had been a long day of traveling and just general boredom. There always was a brief period of depression and general yucky feelings after Christmas and New Year's. It was the low after the high or something. Whatever it was Dawn was eager to catch her plane tomorrow and get back to work in Veilstone.

Piplup found a spot on the pillow and glanced up at her expectantly,

"Lup, piplup?"

"I'll go to bed in a little while Piplup," She reasoned with the water type, "You go ahead and rest, I'm going to get something from the vending machine. I haven't eaten since lunch and I'm starving."

"Pip," The Pokémon agreed, making himself comfortable on the mattress and preparing to sleep.

Dawn sent one last fond look towards her partner before shutting the door and heading towards the centre lobby where the vending machines were. It was a little dark but there was dim lighting left on for trainers like herself who found themselves up late at night.

Humming one of Serena's new songs she paid for lemonade and some chips and began her way back to her room. Her humming was cut short when in the corner of her eye she saw someone sitting on the one of the lobby sofas. Curious as well as cautious she turned her head to see who was there.

It turned out to be the last person she expected to see.

There on the sofa sat a very contemplative Paul in all his brooding glory. He seemed to be lost in thought and was absentmindedly sipping from what looked to be a flask.

"Paul?" Dawn questioned, "Is that you?"

The older trainer turned his head; his eyes widened slightly meaning he was just as surprised to see her here as she was to see him. Without acknowledging her any further he turned away and took another swig of his drinking.

_What a dick_

Dawn scowled and like the determined person she was she approached Paul and sat next to him. She noted his annoyed expression but was unfazed.

"Is that alcohol?"

"What do you think?" He responded curtly causing Dawn's eye to twitch.

"What are you doing in Jubilife? I thought you were in Kanto this season."

"Stop asking questions," He snapped.

"Just making conversation, damn."

There was a period of incredibly awkward silence which was most likely only awkward on Dawn's part as Paul thrived on a lack of communication. There was a good foot of space in between them and Dawn probably appeared stiff and uncomfortable to anyone who looked at her. Paul just continued staring at nothing and drinking from his flask.

After a while Dawn got fed up with it and snatched it from him mid-sip.

"What the hell is your problem?" Paul demanded, not pleased in any sense of the word.

"You really shouldn't be drinking that poison," She countered. Standing down from this incoming argument was not an option in her mind so instead she bit back with equal force, "It's repulsive."

"I'm legal and I don't live to please your every whim. Hand it over."

"I won't!" Dawn hissed back, "Deal with your problems in a healthier way!"

"I don't have problems," He growled.

"I know the look of someone who's drinking to forget!" She all but shouted, tears pricking her eyes. It was an overreaction and she knew it but she couldn't help it. There were somethings she just couldn't ignore.

This seemed to shut Paul up. He gave her a long look before backing down.

After a few minutes Dawn felt bad for blowing up at him so she shot him an apologetic smile,

"Sorry about that. My daddy was a drinker so…" She trailed off a moment and fiddled with the steel flask in her fingers. Paul was staring at her, no longer angry but Dawn couldn't quite place the feeling he was emoting. For some reason Dawn took this non aggressive expression as permission to continue and before she knew it she was telling Paul things she hadn't talked about in years,

"He used to come home in the middle of the night so so mad. Mum and I were lucky since he never hit us but he was always so pissed in more than one way. When he wasn't drunk he would take me on adventures with Kenny and Leona but it only lasted so long and he always went back to his beer. One day my mum and I found him on the sofa. He was dead… choked on his own vomit. So yeah, I recognize the look on your face. I'm probably making you uncomfortable, aren't I? Sorry about that."

"Its fine," Paul responded.

Dawn smiled faintly,

"Y'know as sad as I was my dad was dead, I was kind of glad. Once he was gone… it made life so much easier. As much as I missed the man who made paper boats to float down storm drains I couldn't miss the man who threw things and yelled in the middle of the night. That makes me a horrible person doesn't it?"

"It doesn't."

"For someone so anti-social, you're pretty easy to talk to," Dawn complimented, "I haven't been able to tell anyone that before. Maybe it's because I know you won't tell anybody or you don't react or get judgy."

"I battled Brandon today."

"You're kidding? Today?"

"I won."

"Congratulations! I had no idea the Battle Pyramid was in Sinnoh again which is why you're here I suppose." Paul nodded. Dawn quirked her eyebrows up, "I seem to remember you telling me last year you decided not to. You said something about not needing to prove yourself. What changed your mind?"

"Something about how only beaten Magikarp become Gyarados," He said, Dawn could swear the corner of his lips very quirked up in a smile, "I learned my buttons and didn't let him use them against me."

It was kind of touching that he'd taken her words from half a year ago to heart or at least into consideration. Honestly, it was hard to tell if he really cared what she said in general.

"You remembered," She blushed, "I'm glad my advice worked out for you. If you don't mind my saying though, drinking alone in a Pokémon Centre and acting all mopey doesn't really scream 'I finally beat someone I've been training to beat for years'."

Paul let out a huff that almost sounded like a laugh,

"Just thought I'd feel different."

"What do you mean?"

She wasn't expecting him to respond since he wasn't much for talking about his feelings

"It didn't change anything. I'm still angry at him."

"Brandon? Why?"

"Do you hate your father?"

"I hated the man he was when he was drunk," Dawn admitted, "I didn't hate the man who took me shopping and played hide and seek with me, but that person wasn't around often enough for me not to still be angry at him."

"So it doesn't go away."

"Hmm I don't know I'd say that, you just sort of… get to a crossroad in life where you decide whether or not you'll let it control you," She explained in a sad voice, "But… why are you asking me this?"

Paul didn't say a word for a while and took a deep breath before replying,

"Because I need to understand why I'm feeling this way."

Her mouth hung open slightly and suddenly Dawn's voice was unable to form anything but monosyllabic noises.

"Oh."

Paul suddenly seemed to realize what he'd implied and that he'd revealed something personal, Dawn could see his shoulders stiffen.

"You didn't just hear that," He told her as if she could just forget it so quickly.

It was much easier for her to just agree so she nodded. It was for the best anyways, Paul didn't want to talk and forcing him to would only push him away. They weren't friends by any means but she didn't want to purposely make an acquaintance uncomfortable.

But then again,

The drinking, the anger, the veiled sadness… maybe she should say something.

Just one thing.

"If he left then he was stupid to leave behind two really great sons. You're great on your own though, even if you hadn't beaten him today. Everyone can see it, Reggie, Cynthia, Ash... me."

Paul met her eyes and he almost looked confused. She gave him an unsure but genuine smile as she did she realized that the space between them had closed in considerably since she had first sat down. How that gap had been shortened, she didn't think either of them knew. Or at least she couldn't quite think properly when the trainer in front of her was gazing at her with such intensity. Then again that was Paul wasn't it? Intense in every way possible.

Her head cocked to the side slightly as she gave him a questioning look. She had no clue what he was doing or how he was going to respond to her previous words, her stomach flipped in nervous anticipation. With him this close it was hard for Dawn not to look at Paul… well, like a girl looking at a boy. Up until now they'd kept more than respectful distance and she had never perceived him as anything more than someone she knew who was kind of an asshole but this entire conversation had almost… changed that. Being this near him she couldn't help but notice that despite the harshness of his grey eyes, they were actually quite pretty. She refused to blush at the thought.

Their eyes locked for a good few moments before Dawn saw a brief change in his eyes and in a flash his lips were on hers.

Dawn's eyes flew open in complete shock, her arms straight at her sides and lips frozen.

Paul was kissing her.

She was being kissed.

By Paul.

…And it didn't feel that bad surprisingly. It was awkward and rigid but his lips were full and it definitely would be fun to see what else she could get his mouth to do.

And suddenly the warmth and pressure was lifted from her lips. Her mouth fell slightly open while she tried to comprehend what had just happened. Paul resembled a Stantler in headlights, their eyes met for a moment and before Paul could say anything to deter her, apologize, freak out or get up to leave Dawn plucked up the courage to grab his collar forcefully and reconnected her suddenly lonely lips with his.

She wasn't expecting him to respond immediately but he did. There were no thoughts going through her head, just endorphins shooting off like fireworks. It wasn't romantic, not in any sense of the word, not for Dawn at least. It just was what it was. And what it was was head dizzying and messy making out.

Before she knew what had happened she was straddling him on his lap and he had his hand sneaking underneath the back of her shirt. Dawn shivered at the skin to skin contact.

It was only when both their lips parted did Dawn question what the hell she was doing. It was the taste of liquor on his breath that brought her out of her trance and made her realize something.

He was drunk.

She wasn't.

This was wrong.

So she pulled away.

They didn't see each other again Team Rocket attacked.

**April 5** **th** **, 2015**

**Floccesy Town, Unova**

**12:11pm**

Misty felt more relaxed than she had in a while. Being on the run from an oppressive government made for a very tightly wound and nervous person. Because of that she was glad to be out of Kanto and in a region not taken over by tyrants.

The last couple weeks had been rough, their journey had been even further delayed since Sabrina's murder, which was something Misty was trying to push out of her head and save for processing after this entire mess was over.

Unfortunately for the group, street cameras had taken photos when Sabrina had been stabbed and like the liars they were, Team Rocket only released photos of the group surrounding the body which looked rather incriminating. They had managed to capture Ash, Cilan, Leaf, Misty, Gary and Paul's faces making the six of them and any associates wanted criminals. Why the bastards didn't show the footage of the actual murder, no one knew. All they did know was that there were targets on their backs and if caution hadn't been a priority before, it was now.

It was odd, being a wanted criminal and having one's picture on the news and on posters. Obviously Misty didn't perform the crime but deep down she thought it was kind of cool that she was a former government agent now wanted for murder. That was something she kept to herself however only laughing about it with Ash as it would hardly be appropriate to bring up in conversation.

So yeah, that whole situation was really shit, added to the part where Misty had to travel through her hometown and see it completely taken over. Streets she played basketball on were completely covered with Rocket paraphernalia and grunts and bakeries she visited with her mother were transformed into hubs for people taking shelter from the new power. She could only thank Arceus that Lily and Violet were vacationing in Kalos and Daisy was in Sinnoh with Tracey.

As if that wasn't enough, by the time they got past the Unova/Kanto boarder—which was absolutely hellish—everyone was practically starving. Supplies had run low and it was damn near impossible to acquire more. Everyone was looking thinner and pretty worse for wear so needless to say the first thing they did was find the nearest Pokémon Centre to gather their wits, eat something other than berries and peanut butter, shower and sleep in a bed.

It was absolutely lovely.

So now Misty lay on the couch in the Centre's lobby, she had just got back from the small town's general store especially for travelers. Iris and Cilan had joined her in purchasing supplies for the group as well as changes of clothing more suited for travel which they all desperately needed.

"I know we're on a mission to stop a war and all," Iris mused from the opposite couch, head resting Cilan's lap, "But I kind of never want to move from this spot ever."

Misty grunted in agreement.

"I'm just pleased that no one freaked out when they us shopping," Cilan replied.

"Either Unova is smart enough to know that anything a Rocket controlled region says is probably false propaganda or they don't want to mess with murderers who are underwear shopping," Iris joked.

Misty snorted. Cilan smiled as he absentmindedly played with Iris's large Pidgey's nest of hair. What Misty had seen of the two Gym Leader's relationship was enough to completely confuse her. They were obviously extremely close and she knew the two had traveled with Ash but whether it went beyond that was hard for Misty to gauge. They were openly affectionate with each other in a way that didn't quite cross the line of platonic to romantic, like right now with Iris's head on Cilan's thigh and Cilan staring at her warmly. There were also moments where Iris seemed to think Cilan to be the most obnoxious person on the planet. It was admittedly amusing and sort of sweet but it was really baffling.

The door to one of the rooms opened, revealing Serena.

"Morning you three," She greeted, "Sorry I slept in so late. Bonnie and May are still sleeping, where's everyone else?"

"Everyone else is still in their rooms except Leaf. She's outside doing something on the G-Men database," Cilan replied.

Serena sat down next to Misty, surprising the red head slightly; Serena had avoided her mostly since they'd met.

"You guys got supplies?" Serena noticed, "And changes of clothes for everyone? These past twenty four hours have been the absolute best.."

"I picked everyone a change of clothing based on their personality and style so we can like our outfits but have them still be functional," Cilan said with stars in eyes, "I like to think of myself as a style connoisseur so I think I made some more than satisfactory choices. Serena, yours should be in the bag closest to you."

"Enough yapping dork," Iris mumbled, "I'm trying to nap."

"Then I would recommend heading back to your room rather than sleeping on my leg."

"Naw, I'm comfortable."

Cilan rolled his eyes fondly and didn't protest.

Serena turned her blue eyes meeting Misty's,

"I'm going to change into these clothes and brush my teeth, you want to come?"

Ok, that was weird. Suddenly Misty felt as if she'd been called to the principal's office or had been caught with her hand in a cookie jar. Since they'd met three weeks ago Serena had avoided Misty like the plague and now she suddenly wanted to chat?

"Uh, sure."

She followed the girl into the shower room, bringing her own change of clothes with her. The two of each found a sink and a mirror to use and began changing.

After peeling her shirt off and stepping out of her pants she rummaged through the bag to find the undergarments they'd bought.

"Here," Misty said as she tossed Serena a bra and pair of underwear, "It's not as nice as the one's you have on but at least they're clean."

"Thanks," Serena answered, as she began changing, "How'd you know my size?"

"I grew up with three older sisters who never stopped talking about their developing boob sizes. I usually can eyeball it."

"An odd but useful skill."

Misty nodded, but didn't really know what else to say to the girl. Serena had asked her to come along and there had to be a purpose for it. The younger girl was very different from Misty and had interests that much more aligned with that of her sister's rather than Misty's own. Her demeanor was kinder and more sweet however when she was with everyone else but for some reason seemed to give Misty the cold shoulder.

"Mind if I ask you something?" Misty inquired, deciding that she would be direct and just find out the reason. Serena nodded in confirmation as she pulled her new shirt over her head so Misty proceeded, "Am I being paranoid or do you have a problem with me?"

A violent blush of shame and embarrassment spread across the blonde's cheeks.

"I—I hadn't realized you noticed," She stumbled over her words.

"Don't be so jumpy," Misty reassured her with a laugh, "I'm not pissed or anything I just like to know."

"I guess I've been a little intimidated," Serena didn't meet Misty's eyes as she admitted this, "You're older, an Elite Four member, confident—"

"And we both have feelings for Ash," Misty added bluntly. Suddenly everything was starting to make sense and honestly she was annoyed she hadn't put the pieces together earlier.

"Yes—no—I'm not sure."

"Look, I'm not going to be bitchy about it. Maybe when I was eleven I might have been, but it's cool. If you were scared of me cause you thought I'd be a total ass to you for it, don't worry, I'm not that petty anymore."

Serena looked relieved,

"I thought you didn't like me."

"You are probably one of the cutest human beings I've ever seen and you're nice to everyone, why wouldn't I like you? As for Ash, let's bond over our mutual frustration over his inability to sense anything remotely romantic."

Serena giggled,

"You can say that again. I flat out kissed him once and still looked at me like I'm no different than a dude."

"Ash got kissed?" Misty sputtered in disbelief as she buttoned her new jeans, "What a bastard. The guy has no romantic sense yet it has girls flock to him like Swablu and he doesn't even appreciate it. It's insane."

"Tell me about it."

"If a girl like you kissed me I wouldn't ignore it. I'd take you out to dinner."

"I would definitely go," Serena blushed, "Anyways it doesn't even matter. I don't even know if I like him that way anymore. I was talked to Dawn and May about it while we were on the subway carriage, Dawn said even though she doesn't have romantic feelings for Ash like she used to, she still loves him. I'm wondering lately if that's what's happening with my feelings."

"You're what, fifteen? You have tons of time to figure that out. Besides you definitely aren't lacking in potential boyfriends."

"What do you mean?"

"Bonnie may not need to find love for her big brother if he's already found it," Misty alluded.

"Clemont?" Serena questioned in astonishment, "I'm like his sister."

"All I'm going to say is that if my sister looked at me like that, I'd call Officer Jenny."

Serena's blue eyes went wide at Misty's words before she burst into laughter. Misty couldn't help but join in.

Poor Clemont.

* * *

"We're sure this is the place?" Bonnie asked as the group stood in front of a nicely sized home in a Floccesy Town neighborhood.

"One hundred percent," Leaf answered professionally, "The G-Men database the most reliable out there."

Ash saw Gary's look of amused disbelief,

"For someone who claims to hate the G-Men and League you speak highly of them."

"I'm not biased; I can see the merit in things I don't like."

"I see," Gary smiled playfully, "Hey Ashy boy, if that's true then why does she treat me like a bad fungus?"

Ash snorted, as much as he preferred to be on decent terms with Leaf, Gary could be pretty funny,

"For the sake of my life I'm going to not say anything," replied Ash

"Pika pi," Pikachu agreed enthusiastically.

"If I didn't recognize your merit, you wouldn't be here," Leaf snapped at the researcher. Ash couldn't help but smile. Even though Gary and Leaf weren't exactly friendly they still reminded him of when they all were kids. Gary and Leaf were constantly bickering while Ash and Red watched and laughed. It was sad that times had changed so much so he took his friends' current arguments as reminders of a happy childhood.

"You called _me_ for help, babe," Gary replied flippantly, "Who needs who here?"

"Leaf and Gary's bitter sexual tension aside," Misty cut in, "I'm surprised Jessie and James are living somewhere so…"

"Domestic?" Ash offered as that was what the house was. Strangely normal and sweet looking compared to the flamboyant and silly criminals Ash had known before.

"Yeah," The red head agreed, "Should we just… ring the doorbell?"

Ash shrugged and before anyone could advise him against it, he walked up to the entrance and knocked.

"Ash!" May scolded in a harsh whisper, "Take this more seriously. Maybe discussing a plan on how to go about this would have been a good idea."

Ash laughed sheepishly, he was a man of action, what could he say?

"Oops?"

"How surprisingly sensible of you May," Ash heard Drew tease under his breath. May frowned but before she could retort the door opened.

There stood Jessie. She looked different but Ash knew that magenta hair and sharp gaze anywhere. Her hair was shorter now, only reaching just past her shoulders and she no longer wore her Team Rocket uniform, instead wearing a simple pink blouse and terry cloth shorts.

"Twerp?" Jessie questioned, visibly shocked and suspicious. She moved her head to look behind Ash, "And every Mew forsaken variation in the book. You have got to be kidding me."

Ash wasn't really sure how to respond. She wasn't threatening him, Pikachu hadn't been snatched off his shoulder and she seemed more confused than hostile. How was he supposed to react to her when she was totally different, his usual hotheaded, justice fueled anger didn't seem to fit the mood.

Before he could say anything Misty came up from behind him and spoke,

"We need to ask you some questions. I'm sure you won't refuse us considering our history."

"Presumptuous as ever I see," Jessie said with disdain apparent in her face, "I'll have to ask you to leave twerpette, I'm not interested in chatting. If you don't I'll call Officer Jenny to escort you off my property."

Jessie made a movement to shut the door but before she could Ash heard another voice call out,

"Mama? Who dat?"

A little girl who looked no older than three, waddled up behind Jessie and clung to her leg. She had bright blue eyes, purple hair and a curious expression. The older woman had a scared expression on her face as she picked up the child.

"Please leave," She said softly, her attitude suddenly changing from haughty to fearful.

"Oh my Arceus," Misty gasped in horror, "You reproduced!"

"Jess? Who's at the door?" Another voice called out, and from the hallway walked a blue haired man with another child about the same age in his arms. His face fell when he saw who it was, "Oh crap."

Gary began laughing when he saw James,

"Not only did they reproduce, they did it with each other and there's more than one product. This is amazing!"

Misty gagged,

"Someone get me a bag, I think I'm going to puke."

* * *

After some convincing on the more reasonable members of the groups' part, Jessie and James had let all thirteen of them into their home. Ash for one was completely caught off guard. The idea of the two villains of his early childhood days settling down with babies was… disturbing.

And also kind of sweet…

The house was pretty nice, it had the some homey atmosphere that Ash's did in fact. It wasn't extravagant or anything but it was well kept. James led them into the living room while they came in contact with Meowth, the third part of the Rocket trio.

"I told yah teh check befoe yah answer da door," Meowth grumbled to Jessie, "Now weez got twerps in our livin' room."

"Shut it Meowth before I smack you something good," Jessie threatened as she sat on the floor with her daughter. The group had seated themselves in the sitting room on the couches and it was cramped with the sheer number of people.

The little girl who was currently playing with Pokedolls on her mother's lap laughed at her mother's threat,

"Funny!"

"Yeh yeh," Meowth dismissed, "Even da little one don't believe ya Jess."

"What's her name?" Serena inquired with the face Ash's mum always had when she say babies, "She's beautiful."

"Well of course she is," Jessie bragged, "Judith is my daughter after all, anything less than perfection is impossible."

That sounded more like the Jessie he remembered.

"Aw, baby Judith," Serena cooed, "How sweet."

"What about the little guy?" Ash asked, referring to the little boy watching James preparing tea in the kitchen.

"His name is Jay," Jessie answered cautiously, "As heartwarming as this catching up is I'm going to have to cut this conversation short. Why are you all here?"

"I'm sure you've heard about Kanto and Johto," Ash said, "We… need information."

Jessie rubbed her forehead as if she had a headache coming on,

"Look kid, we haven't been a part of Team Rocket in almost five years. We don't have anything useful."

As she spoke James came in, apron on and hair tied back, with enough tea for everyone in the room,

"Help yourself," He offered, "And if I might add, we were hardly high level grunts. Even if we were still affiliated, I doubt we'd know much."

"But you were so active in Unova, you worked hand in hand with Giovanni," Iris argued.

"Dat don't change da fact dat we don't know nothing," Meowth pointed out.

"I just can't believe you left Rocket," Iris said, "What made you decide to?"

"Two bundles of joy," Jessie said dryly, "Found out I was pregnant and got out the next day."

"But why?"

"You aren't entitled to our reasons twerp, but if you must know, my mother was a Rocket agent and I sure as hell wasn't going to die on some stupid mission and leave my children on their own."

"That's admirable," Ash said. He meant every word of it too.

"So we ran off to Unova where Team Rocket wouldn't find us and we never looked back," James sighed, "It wasn't easy and it could all be taken away from us in a second. That's why Jessie was reluctant to talk with you twerps. We thought you were here to turn us in."

"Chu pika," Pikachu chirped sympathetically before Jay approached him with a chubby smile, coercing the Pokémon into playing with him and his twin.

"They're just like their parents," Gary joked, "Trying to take Pikachu away."

Jessie, James and Meowth couldn't help but crack a smile.

Ash was torn. Those three had put him and his friends through hell for years, they broke the law and they hadn't been good people. But there were also the moments where they saved Ash's life or when they were on the same side… he didn't know what to do with them and seeing them living a simple, quiet, crime free life with their two children made him feel conflicted. Really, they should be reported to Officer Jenny but Ash couldn't bring himself to do it.

"I promise I won't say anything," He found himself deciding out loud, "Judith and Jay have a good life and it should stay that way. If you have _anything_ that might help us, please tell us."

"We've heard Team Rocket is looking for a 'silver eyed son', any idea what that means," Leaf prodded.

The former Rocket agents' eyes lit up in recognition,

"Yah mean da boss's kid?" Meowth disclosed.

"Giovanni has a kid?" Leaf repeated in an impressive deadpan.

"Yeh, kid ran away when he wuz ten or something."

"And you're sure that he's the silver eyed son they're looking for. The G-Men database said nothing about it.

"Da boss was lookin for him since da kid left. He's a son. He got silver eyes. Sounds 'bout right teh me. Plus if da G-Men knews everyting den ya wouldn't be in dis mess."

"So Team Rocket is looking for Giovanni's son as well as Ash. What's the connection?" Leaf pondered out loud, but clearly to herself.

"Thank you guys," Dawn spoke up, "Seriously, you have been a huge help."

"Would have been more helpful if they were still in Rocket," Paul muttered.

"Stop being so sour, I think it's wonderful that they've redeemed themselves and started a family."

"We don't need you twerps' approval," Jessie sniffed.

"What she means is thanks," James interjected with a cordial smile, one Ash couldn't help but return.

"Well, we should get out of your hair," Cilan said as he stood up from his seat, "You've been gracious hosts and we don't want to overstay our welcome."

"Yeah, get your wanted asses out of here," Jessie responded with a smirk, "Say what you want about our criminal history but at least we never murdered someone."

"We were framed!" Bonnie insisted.

"That's what they all say sweetie."

Everyone had left the house and just as Ash was about to go out the door like his friends he felt a pull on his pant leg and turned to see Jay gazing up at him,

"What's up buddy?" He asked.

"I see you win," He declared, "On da tv!"

"You did? That's pretty cool, did you like the battle?"

"Ya! Mama and Dada did too, dey said dat dey always knew you could. Mama and Dada and Memowth was wewey happy."

"Were they?" Ash said, sending Jessie, James and Meowth an amused glance.

"Stop looking at me like that," Jessie huffed, "So we rooted for you, big whoop."

"Thanks Jessie, it actually does mean a lot," Ash said with a heart filled with gratitude, earning himself an eye roll from the older woman.

"Just go twerp," Meowth groaned, "Good luck or whatever."

"Glad to see you care," Ash grinned.

"Go do your world saving," James returned Ash's grin, "If anyone can stop this world shattering mess, it's you kid. And Pikachu."

"Pika!" The mouse Pokémon cried out happily.

"I'll try, you guys take care ok?"

"We always do."

"Bai!" The twins said in unison, rising up pudgy hands in farewell.

And with that Ash left the family behind and rejoined his friends.

* * *

"Twins?!" Brock gasped through the Xtransceiver screen, "You're joking right?"

"I wish," Misty grimaced; she was apparently still grossed out by the idea, which didn't make much sense to Ash. It was what it was after all.

Everyone else was sleeping in their respective rooms at the Pokémon Centre but Ash and Misty had decided to get an update from Brock and fill him in on the weirdness that was today. So they sat in the Centre's lobby

"That means they had sex," Brock laughed hysterically.

"Stop reminding me!" Misty whined then covered Ash's eyes, "Also watch your language in front of the child."

"OK, I get it I'm immature but I do in fact know what sex is, also you're covering my eyes not my ears," Ash grumbled as he narrowed his eyes.

"Holy shit Misty," Brock marvelled jokingly, "He's growing up so fast."

The red head put the back of her hand to her forehead dramatically as if she was a heroine in one of his Ash's mum's soap operas,

"It breaks my poor motherly heart!"

"You guys are the worst. I forgot how much I hate it when you two gang up on me," Ash retorted.

"Brings back memories," Brock said, "Wait, going back to the Team Rocket thing, does that mean those two were banging while we saw them on a daily basis?"

What a horrifying thought.

"Brock if you don't shut the fuck up I am going to get my ass back to Kanto and beat you into next week," Misty growled. Her face looked scarily like it did back when Ash was a kid.

"Seriously, did they blast off then get it on, I need answers here!"

Ash was in complete shock, unable to process or quite understand this concept. Pikachu on the other hand was on the ground laughing uncontrollably.

"I'm hanging up on you," Misty deadpanned.

"Alright, alright," Brock apologized, "I'll message you guys when we have any more information. I'll see what info Max and I can come up in regards to Giovanni's son."

"See you later Brock," Ash waved, "We miss you here."

"I miss you guys too but someone had to stay back to spill League secrets to you."

"And we're very thankful."

"Later bud."

"See ya."

"Pika pi!"

And the screen went black.

Ash lay back on the couch and yawned, it was getting late and really he should be catching up on sleep before they went back on the road.

"About what Brock told us, I'm glad some of the Gym Leaders got to Lance before Rocket got them."

"Same," Misty agreed in a more serious tone, "I'm just worried about the ones that didn't. What if… what if they end up like…"

There it was. The topic of the dead Gym Leaders that both of them had seen killed hadn't been talked about even if it was still making everyday life hard. Ash sometimes woke up in the middle of the night, sweaty and breathless remembering how he wasn't able to save Lt. Surge, Raichu or Sabrina. How he'd been useless. Pikachu was the only soul on earth that knew, maybe just maybe Misty would understand too.

"I… I still see it when I go to sleep," Misty murmured, retelling a similar experience Ash was having, "Then I wake up and for a minute I think it's only a dream, but it's real. It's so real it hurts."

"I know," Ash sighed dejectedly; he was glad to have someone who understood, "It's hard to sleep sometimes."

"I should have been able to stop it, it was my responsibility. I'm an Elite Four, I should be able to protect them but I failed. Karen should have never recommended me for this stupid job. I can't do it so what's the point."

It was pointless telling her it wasn't her fault, Ash knew Misty enough to know she wouldn't believe that. He wasn't sure what to say. Her head was in her hands and she was hunched over in frustration.

"I'm really glad you came with me," Were the words he chose to say.

Misty met his brown eyes with her green ones, a soft and sad expression dawning her face,

"Of course I came. How could I not?"

"I don't know. I'm just happy you're here and I can talk to you."

"Me too. I missed you. A lot."

"You getting soft on me Mist?" Ash taunted playfully.

"Hell no," She scoffed with a grin, "Can't I miss my best friend?"

"Aw you love me!" He teased as he poked her side.

"Well duh you idiot, how can I not after all the crap we've been through together."

"You love me~!"

Misty then pounced on him, hitting him (not hard) repeatedly, her face way bright red. Ash could only giggle, not only was her reaction funny but she was kind of tickling him. Not about to take this abuse lying down, Ash retaliated with equal fervor. Misty shrieked but didn't back down.

After a few minutes of laughter and teasing they grew quiet again, their snickering dying down and they were content to just breathe and stare at the ceiling.

"No one could have done anything," Ash murmured in the thick silence, "No one could have done anything to save them. Not you, not me, not Lance, not anyone."

Misty bit her lip and grabbed Ash's hand tightly, he didn't shy away from the touch physically but something about the sudden intimate contact made him feel… strange. A feeling he couldn't place.

"I know that, I just wish I had the power to."

"Me too."

And the two of them sat on the couch in the dark lobby, hand in hand, staring at nothing in particular while Pikachu curled up between them. They stayed there until sleep overtook both of them. The next morning Leaf woke up and found them, still hand in hand, foreheads touching…

But also snoring like heathens.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How quick was this update? Eyy!
> 
> About Dawn and Paul, if it seemed out of character keep a couple things in mind. They'd seen each other 3 or 4 other times that haven't been included in the story during the time Dawn was Reggie's student. Also Paul was very drunk, his judgment was hardly what it normally would be.
> 
> Anyhoo let me know how you liked this chapter. I'm kind of proud of it (other than the kiss scene).
> 
> Thanks for reading, have a lovely day :)

**Author's Note:**

> So yeah, I've been planning this story and rewriting bits of it for almost two years now. I figured I'd just post it. I have a few chapters already written so I'll probably post the next one soon. I plan on alternating updates between this story and my other one, Castles and Bricks.
> 
> I came up with this when I was thinking about of Lt. Surge talked about war. I wanted to write about a war in pokeverse so here we go...
> 
> The characters are much older now, Ash is eighteen, so it's definitely been a while.
> 
> The conflict is definitely elusive at this point but it will slowly become clear to readers as it becomes clear to the characters.
> 
> I know there's going to be romance in the story but it's definitely not a focal point, so if you're looking for a romance... this may not be... well what you're looking for.
> 
> So yeah. I hope someone enjoyed this.


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